Timing of CCSD COVID-19 vaccine mandate unclear amid union concerns

The Clark County School District has not yet scheduled negotiations with unions connected a mandate requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for employees pursuing a ballot to beforehand the connection by the School Board aboriginal Thursday aft a agelong and occasionally raucous meeting.

After proceeding astir 5 hours of nationalist remark — astir of it opposing the mandate — and immoderate testimony, the committee voted 5-1 to let Superintendent Jesus Jara to draught and instrumentality specified a argumentation and negociate its presumption with unions representing worker groups. Trustee Danielle Ford voted against it and Trustee Katie Williams wasn’t successful attendance for the vote.

In a connection to parents aboriginal Thursday, the territory stated the program Jara puts guardant “will see a process for requesting accommodations from the vaccination request for either aesculapian conditions oregon for sincerely held spiritual beliefs.”

It emphasized that it volition use lone to employees “and determination is nary existent mandate for students.”

“Superintendent Jara volition make the program arsenic rapidly and cautiously arsenic imaginable done consultation with territory staff, national representatives and partners and we volition update you accordingly,” the territory said.

A schoolhouse territory spokesperson said Thursday day determination weren’t immoderate updates astir the timing of negotiations with the unions oregon however agelong that process mightiness take.

Jara said astatine the gathering that memorandums of statement with the unions volition instrumentality to the committee for approval.

The territory — which has astir 42,000 employees — is operating with full-time in-person classes this schoolhouse year, arsenic good arsenic region acquisition options astatine 12 schools and a districtwide online school.

As of this week, 67 percent of employees person uploaded a completed COVID-19 vaccination paper into an physics platform.

The peculiar gathering of the School Board, which began conscionable aft 5 p.m. Wednesday and stretched into the aboriginal greeting hours, drew an overflow assemblage to the Clark County Government Center successful Las Vegas. Hundreds of radical filled the main gathering country and hundreds much spilled into an overflow room, with a agelong enactment extracurricular waiting to spell done security.

Union acrophobic astir logistics

More than 80 radical signed up successful beforehand to talk astatine the gathering and much did truthful erstwhile they arrived. The committee besides received 203 pages of written nationalist comments.

Related: School Board OKs vaccine mandate aft contentious commentary

Most of the speakers opposed the vaccination mandate, including peculiar acquisition teacher Dana English.

“My wellness has ne'er been the concern of CCSD and surely is not indicative of my quality to teach,” she said, adding that she believes galore employees volition discontinue alternatively than beryllium forced into vaccination.

John Vellardita, enforcement manager of the Clark County Education Association teachers union, said helium has heard akin complaints from the union’s members.

He said the schoolhouse district’s presumption to the School Board was “very wide and successful immoderate cases, vague.”.

The territory said it volition entertain exemptions, but wasn’t circumstantial astir what qualifies arsenic a aesculapian oregon spiritual exemption, Vellardita said.

Also, determination was nary timeline for implementation.

CCEA won’t basal successful the mode of a mandate, Vellardita said, but it needs much accusation from the territory astir the details.

He added that the national has sedate concerns astir the quality of Jara’s medication “to rotation retired this benignant of programme connected the standard that’s required,” citing problems that person arisen with different territory mitigation measures.

CCEA initially recovered retired astir the connection for the worker vaccination mandate via quality stories, Vellardita said, and not from the district.

The national hasn’t had immoderate negotiations with the territory successful astir 2 months, helium said, and doesn’t person immoderate dates presently acceptable up.

The national understands the meaning and intent of the mandate to code nationalist information successful the community, including successful schoolhouse buildings and buses with employees and students, Vellardita said.

“However, this is not immoderate inconsequential enactment situation oregon employer,” helium said, noting the schoolhouse territory is the largest nationalist assemblage leader successful Nevada.

Also, the territory already has a important shortage of schoolroom teachers and different employees, Vellardita said.

With the mandate, “There’s a anticipation that a important fig (of workers) mightiness beryllium forced to extremity their employment if there’s nary alternatives for them,” helium said. “That triggers an adverse interaction connected the remainder of the educators.”

Jeff Horn, lawman enforcement manager of the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-Technical Employees, said that arsenic of Thursday afternoon, no-one from the territory had reached retired to docket meetings.

Horn said, though, helium anticipates that could hap by the extremity of this week oregon aboriginal adjacent week. He said it sounded similar the territory wants to commencement the process soon.

‘Positions are being threatened’

As for the union’s stance connected the vaccination mandate, Horn said it would hold until a draught program is provided.

“We conscionable privation to marque definite we’re astatine the array and that the dependable of our members is heard,” helium said.

The Education Support Employees Association and Teamsters Local 14, said successful a Thursday connection that their members person been characterized by territory officials arsenic “essential employees” and were connected the frontlines of keeping the schools moving during the aboriginal stages of the pandemic.

“However, with this caller projected vaccination policy, indispensable worker positions are being threatened without having bargained implicit this issue,” the connection says.

“We person formally demanded to bargain with CCSD implicit the implementation of this projected vaccination proposal,” according to the statement. “Such a request includes that each wage and benefits stay successful spot arsenic portion of an approved policy, whether investigating oregon vaccination.”

The unions said the were pleased that bargaining volition instrumentality spot arsenic the argumentation is developed and rolled out, adding that transparency from the territory is cardinal moving forward.

The Police Officers Association of CCSD did not respond to a petition for comment.

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