St. Paul schools exploring vaccine mandate for staff

The St. Paul school board is weighing a proposal to make the district the state's largest to require all staff members to either show proof of a coronavirus vaccine or submit to regular testing.

Board members got their first look at the vaccine mandate Tuesday ahead of an expected vote Friday.

Superintendent Joe Gothard took a firm stand behind a mandate Tuesday, citing the rise in respiratory illnesses that can occur in the fall.

"I am very concerned, and I think our health leaders are as well," he told school board members. "It's another reason I bring this to you with some urgency."

Vaccine mandates have gained momentum in school systems across the country — Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C., among them — following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's full approval of the Pfizer vaccine. Last week, Intermediate School District 287, a cooperative serving about 1,000 high-needs kids from across a swath of Hennepin County, said it will require staff members to participate in weekly COVID-19 testing or show proof of vaccination. That district noted Tuesday it serves some of the state's most medically and emotionally challenged students.

St. Paul has nearly 7,000 staff members, and each were invited to take part in a recent survey on a vaccine requirement. Of the 3,910 employees who responded, 55% backed a mandate and 37% did not, the school board was told Tuesday.

Most speakers who addressed the board during its public comment period Tuesday expressed support.

Robyn Asher, a district biology teacher and executive board member with the St. Paul Federation of Educators, said that with vaccination rates lagging and children under 12 not yet able to receive vaccines, "SPFE is ready to negotiate with the district on a vaccine requirement."

Four of the 12 speakers raised concerns about a mandate, but three said the district should allow for exemptions or testing, if it proceeds. Two of the speakers, Arlesha Barnes and Andrew Banker, questioned the effectiveness of vaccines. Banker described mandates as "philosophically violent."

Peter Hendricks, a parent with two children in the district who has promoted a vaccine mandate on social media and in a previous board appearance, shared with members Tuesday how school leaders in Madison, Wis., and St. Louis backed similar moves by pledging to do everything in their power to protect children.

"Please do what's best for the common good," Hendricks said.

The three-page resolution presented to the school board in draft form Tuesday called for all staff members to be fully vaccinated or tested weekly — with an effective date of Oct. 15.

During the discussion, however, Cedrick Baker, the district's chief of staff, said he was concerned the district might not be ready to "go live" then, after all. He may offer an alternative date at the board's meeting Friday.

And in August, Gothard raised questions about the impact such a requirement might have on a district scrambling to fill nearly 300 jobs before classes resume Sept. 9. Employees who do not comply with either the vaccination or weekly testing would be subject to discipline as spelled out in their respective bargaining agreements.

Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota, has said getting inoculated is the best tool to protect students and school communities, and every educator who works directly with students should do so, "with very few exceptions."

The union has distributed a sample agreement it says ensures a fair policy between districts and its local affiliates.