Update | Here’s how the COVID vaccine mandate is affecting Tri-Cities schools

Tri-City school officials expect students and parents will see little to no disruption from the COVID vaccine mandate on school employees that took affect Monday night.

Kennewick is the first district in the area to report any impact from a Washington state requirement that teachers and other school workers either show they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19 or get a medical or religious exemption.

They expected to need to change a couple of bus routes for one or two schools, said Robyn Chastain, the district’s executive director of public affairs. The district is notifying parents directly so they have time to plan for the adjustment.

Each of the districts has been working since Gov. Jay Inslee announced the new requirement in the face of the rise of the delta variant of COVID-19. The requirement has drawn concerns in the state about mass walkouts and losing a major part of the workforce.

The Seattle school district announced Monday that it would need to suspend 142 bus routes, affecting as many as 6,700 students, according to the Seattle Times. The district cited the mandate along with a bus driver shortage as reasons for the changes.

Overall, all three of the Tri-Cities districts reported more than 96 percent of their employees had been vaccinated or filed an exemption. Most were vaccinated.

The districts have not released information on how many teachers or other employees have resigned, citing the mandate as the reason.

Tuesday, Kennewick school officials said 99 percent of 2,900 active employees had filed their paperwork, with 82 percent being vaccinated. Twenty-four employees are in the process of being vaccinated.

Two are on unpaid leave after not responding. They have until Jan. 31, to either get vaccinated or have an approved exemption.

As of Monday, Pasco said just two employees hadn’t filed their paperwork with the district, said Shane Edinger. He said there hasn’t been any significant impacts to the district linked to the requirement.

The most recent figures from Pasco show about 84 percent of the staff have been vaccinated.

And the Richland district had received responses from 96 percent of its staff members by Monday. The most recent figures for vaccination from last week show about three-quarters of the staff had been vaccinated.

“We feel pretty confident that we will have minimal disruption to our operation,” Communications Director Ty Beaver told the Herald. “We are working really hard to get their paperwork. We really don’t want to lose anyone from our district family.”

Accommodations, shortages

Hundreds of Tri-City school employees who received an exemption from getting the COVID vaccine will need to take extra steps for their job, say school officials.

While other employers have talked about moving people away from dealing with the public or into other jobs, none of the Tri-City school districts have moved staff members to different positions because of the exemptions.

The extra steps include regular testing for COVID, more physical distancing and wearing masks.

“The accommodations are specific to the staff member,” Beaver said. “There is no one-size-fits-all solution.”

Concerns about the vaccine mandate hit at the same time school districts are trying to hire more employees.

Kennewick schools are holding a job fair Wednesday and are looking for paraeducators, cooks, substitute teachers and coaches.

Pasco held a similar job fair last month to look for paraeducators, nutrition services staff, custodians and bus drivers.

Edinger said there have been shortages in those areas since the beginning of the year.

This story was originally published October 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.