In Modoc Joint Unified School District in Alturas, 31 teachers and other school staff are considering resigning because they don’t want to take the COVID test or get vaccinated, Taylor said.
In a small district like Modoc Joint Unified, which has 857 students, a loss of nearly half its employees could force it to close, Taylor said.
“We have never gotten to these crossroads,” Taylor said. “What if you can’t staff your schools? I don’t know what the answer is.”
Schools in many rural areas already have been struggling with staffing shortages, which have been exacerbated this school year by high COVID infection rates and mandated quarantines, leaving classrooms without teachers.
Although there is more resistance to the mandates at rural schools, even the state’s largest district — Los Angeles Unified — is struggling to get its staff vaccinated. The district, which passed its own vaccine mandate for staff and students in September, recently moved its deadline for all staff to be fully vaccinated from Oct. 15 to Nov. 15.
At a school board meeting on Sept. 28, district officials announced that only 1 in 5 employees had turned in proof of vaccination, according to the Los Angeles Times. The district is trying to encourage vaccinations by hosting vaccine clinics on campuses, allowing staff up to three hours of paid time off to be vaccinated and hosting informational meetings for employees.
Los Angeles Unified School District Interim Superintendent Megan Reilly has said vaccines are the best way to keep kids in school.
“Vaccines are a game-changer for all of us,” she said in August. “They help reduce the chances of getting considerably sick and dying from the virus. We can and will protect our school communities by continuing to vaccinate employees and every eligible student.”
The school boards of Culver City Unified, West Contra Costa Unified, Oakland Unified, Piedmont Unified, San Diego Unified and, this week, Sacramento City Unified, also voted to establish vaccine mandates for eligible students and staff that will begin before the state mandate.
The state mandate is set to begin either Jan. 1 or July 1, depending on when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration fully approves the shot for children in each grade span — 7-12 and K-6. Only the Pfizer vaccine is fully approved for those 16 and older. The Pfizer vaccine also has emergency authorization for use in children ages 12 to 16.
Sacramento City Unified Superintendent Jorge Aguilar called the district’s vaccine mandate “a bold stand to protect public health,” but warned the school board Tuesday that the requirement could increase staffing shortages in the district as students who don’t want to be vaccinated move to independent study.
“Our independent study program is already challenged under our current circumstances,” he said in a statement. “A statewide staffing shortage has been exacerbated by the pandemic, and Sac City Unified, like most districts across the state, has been struggling to fill positions, so we can meet current demand for independent study.”
The school board voted to require all eligible students and staff to show proof of vaccination, either first or second dose, by Nov. 30.
In San Diego Unified, school staff members have until Dec. 20 to receive both doses of the vaccine. That gives them two weeks over the winter break to achieve full immunity, said Andrew Sharp, spokesman for the district.
Sharp said it’s too early to know if the state vaccine mandate will affect staffing levels at the district. Currently, the district requires that staff either be vaccinated or tested for COVID-19. The human resources department hasn’t seen an exodus of staff as a result, he said.
District vaccine mandates aren’t likely in rural districts, where more community residents are opposed to vaccines. Staffing shortages are already severe in some of those districts, and school officials worry about filling positions if more employees leave.
Sherri Morgan, executive director at Long Valley Charter School in the small, conservative town of Doyle in Lassen County, said it’s difficult to find employees even in the best of times.
“Do you know where Doyle is?” she asked. “There is nothing for 40 miles north of Reno. It’s literally in the middle of nowhere.”
Every member of the Long Valley Charter School staff has indicated a willingness to take the COVID test, Morgan said. But she is nervous about what will happen when the option to test is taken away and the vaccine is mandated.
“In January, if they say they have to be vaccinated, I don’t know how I will stay open,” she said.
The district, which serves 230 students, already has counselors and other credentialed employees in classrooms filling in for teachers every day of the week, she said.