COVID-19 vax mandate for CCSD employees stalled

More than a period aft the Clark County School Board approved a request that employees indispensable beryllium afloat vaccinated against COVID-19, unions accidental negotiations implicit the details haven’t started yet.

The schoolhouse committee voted 5-1 successful aboriginal September to o.k. a mandate, which would let for aesculapian and spiritual exemptions. Trustee Danielle Ford voted “no” and Trustee Katie Williams wasn’t successful attendance.

The gathering drew hundreds of radical and the committee heard much than 5 hours of nationalist comments, overwhelmingly successful absorption to the proposal, earlier voting.

The schoolhouse committee did not spot immoderate timeline connected erstwhile the requirement, which would interaction much than 42,000 Clark County School District employees, would instrumentality effect. Memorandums of statement with worker unions are expected to travel backmost to the schoolhouse board.

At the clip of the vote, astir 67 percent of the district’s employees had uploaded a competed COVID-19 vaccination paper into an online platform. Now, 70.5 percent are vaccinated, the territory said Wednesday.

In a Wednesday statement, the territory said each of the 5 bargaining units representing employees are “being consulted successful the improvement of the vaccination program and the program volition beryllium made disposable to the nationalist erstwhile it is finalized.”

“CCSD is committed to keeping our schools unfastened for in-person learning and prioritizing the wellness and information of our students and staff,” according to the statement. “While the District deployed a multi-layered strategy to forestall the dispersed of the COVID-19 virus, the champion medically disposable mitigation strategy is the vaccine.”

The Clark County Education Association, which represents teachers and different licensed schoolhouse territory employees, said earlier this week it hasn’t negotiated with the territory yet implicit the vaccination mandate.

“We person not been notified that the territory has developed a plan, nor person they reached retired to america to beryllium down with them connected the issue, but we are prepared to astatine immoderate time,” national spokeswoman Joanna Miller said via email.

The Education Support Employees Association besides didn’t person updates astir the vaccination mandate.

“The District has enactment those negotiations connected clasp until aft the declaration is settled,” spokesperson Alexander Marks said via email.

The Review-Journal didn’t person a effect from the Police Officers Association of the Clark County School District.

Stephen Augspurger, enforcement manager of the Clark County Association of School Administrators & Professional Technical Employees, said Tuesday determination haven’t been negotiations regarding the mandate and thing has been scheduled by the schoolhouse district.

Around Sept. 13, the territory requested accusation from the national regarding the mandate, Augspurger said, and the national responded successful penning Sept. 20.

In the missive to the district, Augspurger wrote that the national believes a “mandatory vaccination request should not beryllium instituted astatine this time.”

In the letter, the national raised concerns astir existent vacancy rates, positive employees utilizing sick leave, noting “schools are already successful crisis.” If the fig of vacant jobs continues to increase, it volition jeopardize the district’s precedence for in-person acquisition astatine immoderate point, the national added.

“It is imperative that nary constituent of the mandate should service to further exacerbate an already captious staffing shortage,” the missive says.

The national believes “voluntary vaccination rates tin beryllium further improved,” according to the letter, and suggests delaying implementation of a mandate to “provide further clip for voluntary compliance.”

The missive besides says the existent COVID-19 corruption complaint is little than 0.8 percent of each students and staff.

The national suggests utilizing mobile vaccination units astatine schools and cardinal bureau locations during the enactment time to “facilitate easiness of vaccination” and astatine “highly attended aft schoolhouse activities and sporting events.”

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener astatine jgreener@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton connected Twitter.