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The vast majority of staff in public school districts on the Northern Olympic Peninsula are either vaccinated against COVID-19 or have been approved for exemptions.
Monday, October 4 was the last day for public school staff, state employees and hospital workers to receive a Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to comply with the vaccination mandate of the Governor Jay Inslee.
For staff members who have been approved for medical or religious exemptions, districts are taking additional measures to prevent them from falling ill with COVID-19, such as weekly tests, increased masking requirements and strict social distancing.
Port-Angeles
The Port Angeles School District, the largest in Clallam County, is expected to see at least six possible resignations / layoffs of its 553 staff and teachers due to non-compliance, according to Carmen Geyer, community relations coordinator, on Friday.
That could change, as the district still had a week to compile the information before the October 18 deadline.
More than 40 employees – teachers and other staff – have been granted religious or medical exemptions and will be subjected to consistent testing as required by the mandate.
Beyond that, nearly 94% of PASD staff and 95% of PASD teachers were fully vaccinated on Friday, with 15 staff checks pending and 14 teacher checks pending, Geyer said.
Sequim
In the Sequim school district on Friday, eight people out of 411 employees were considered non-compliant in that they had outstanding responses, according to Victoria Balint, director of human resources.
“We are optimistic about 100% compliance, but if an employee started the vaccination process late, we would absolutely work with them,” she said in an email. “It will most likely look like a day off until they have completed the process.”
Of those with exceptional responses, one was a teacher, two were para-educators, three were bus drivers, and two were guards.
Balint said 360 staff members had been vaccinated, 37 received religious accommodation, two received medical accommodation and four were on leave.
“Those with accommodation should wear masks at all times, practice maximum social distancing and test for COVID weekly,” she said.
Croissant
The Crescent School District has reported that 100 percent of its teaching staff are fully immunized, but three of its administrative workers are likely to resign or be fired due to the immunization mandate.
“To be honest, for our organization I have worked very, very hard over the last few days to try to understand precisely what is going to happen in our offices,” Superintendent Dave Bingham said last week.
“I’ve had a few viable options, but I really want to go out and recruit and hire people to fill these positions, but I’d be happy to exploit some at this time.
“I’ve had a handful of exemption requests,” Bingham said. “Most of them are temporary or substitute employees who work in several districts, but are employed by us.”
Quillayute Valley
The Quillayute Valley School District said 85% of its administrative and teaching staff have been fully immunized, but specific data would not be publicly available until reported to the state.
“QVSD is very fortunate in that our district is very little affected by the mandate, and 99.9% of our staff are in compliance with the mandate by being fully vaccinated or approved to receive housing to ensure the safety of our students and employees, ”said the superintendent. Diana Reaume said in an email.
“We’re sorting our data because we’ve just completed the process of working with each of our staff to ensure compliance. ”
Cape Flattery
The Cape Flattery School District said the majority of its 135 employees, both staff and teachers, were vaccinated last week, with eight having been granted exemptions.
“Many of our employees were vaccinated prior to tenure,” Cape Flattery Superintendent Michelle Perkins said last week.
“This was in large part due to the efforts of the Makah Tribe providing early vaccination to all of our staff on the Neah Bay and Clallam Bay campuses, and then also (Clallam) County coming in and offering vaccination clinics.”
In Jefferson County, only the Chimacum School District appears to be on the verge of losing staff – about four to six – because they haven’t been vaccinated or approved for an exemption.
Port Townsend
The Port Townsend School District will not lose any staff due to the vaccination mandate, Superintendent Linda Rosenbury said Thursday.
“We have fully respected the governor’s mandate,” she said.
Ninety-three percent of staff provided proof of full vaccination and 7 percent were approved for state exemptions, Rosenbury said.
Chimacum
The “vast majority” of Chimacum staff are either vaccinated or have received an exemption, said Superintendent Scott Mauk, who estimated that about 90 percent are fully vaccinated.
All certified staff, like teachers, are fully vaccinated, he said.
Due to the loss of a few staff members, a slight reorganization is being assessed by the district, such as bus lines, and the district has increased its advertisements for job vacancies, but overall, Mauk thinks the district will be fine.
“I feel pretty lucky right now,” he said. “We’re going to have challenges, but I think we’ll be fine and I know other districts in the state will have a much harder time keeping schools open.
“I have no doubts that we are following the guidelines and ensuring the safety of children and staff. ”
Quilcene
The Quilcene School District will not have to lay off or lay off staff as a result of the tenure, Superintendent Frank Redmon said.
Eighty-seven percent of staff are vaccinated and 13 percent have been approved for exemptions, he said.
All certified staff who teach in person are fully vaccinated, Redmon said.
Some exempt staff work remotely and do not interact with students or staff in person, Redmon said.
Brinnon
All staff in the Brinnon School District have been vaccinated or given exemptions, Superintendent Trish Beathard said.
About 82% of staff at Brinnon, a K-8 school, were fully vaccinated on Friday and the rest were given exemptions, Beathard said.
The district works with exempt staff on a case-by-case basis for accommodation.
“While I consider personal exemptions to be confidential, in general, careful masking and compliance with COVID testing requests would be considered,” she said.
Beathard is happy not to lose staff as a result of the tenure.
“I’m really grateful that I didn’t have to deal with this, but I’m also grateful to have such a great staff,” Beathard said.
“They want to do the right thing, they want to support the opening of schools.
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Journalist Ken Park can be reached at [email protected]. Journalist Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at [email protected]. Michael Dashiell, editor of the Sequim Gazette of the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is also made up of other newspapers from Sound Publishing, Peninsula Daily News and Forks Forum, contributed to this story. Reach it at [email protected].
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