Unvaccinated Tri-Cities state lawmaker still working in schools despite COVID mandate

A Tri-Cities lawmaker continues to work as a school resource officer in two Mid-Columbia school districts despite not complying with state COVID-19 requirements.

And it’s not clear if other officers assigned to work inside schools in Richland are following the new state rules.

Kennewick police and school district officials confirmed to the Herald that their five resource officers are in compliance.

And four of Pasco’s five school resource officers have gotten the COVID-19 vaccine, said police officials.

State Rep. Brad Klippert, who has been a Benton County sheriff school resource officer for the Kiona-Benton City school district for more than 20 years, told the Herald he has not gotten a COVID-19 vaccination nor been asked for a medical or religious exemption from the requirement.

He also fills in as the school resource officer for the Finley School District.

That flies in the face of a new state requirement that began Oct. 18 that any employee or contractor working with children in Washington schools needs to have either the vaccine or an exemption, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

“In this case, the Kiona Benton School District contracts with the Benton County Sheriff’s Department for school resource officer (SRO) services,” Katy Payne, the office’s director of communications, told the Herald. “The sheriff’s department is required to verify the vaccination status and process requests for exemptions of any SROs they send to school districts.”

Tri-City school districts, including Ki-Be schools just west of the Tri-Cities, have reported widespread compliance by school employees.

Kennewick, Richland and Pasco school district all reported six or fewer employees who hadn’t either been vaccinated or filed an exemption form.

Richland and Pasco school officials said they are relying on their city police departments to make sure their school officers are following the same rules.

However, none of the local police departments are requiring most of their employees to be vaccinated or to fill out an exemption form.

And Richland police Capt. Brigit Clary said the school district has not asked them about the status of their resource officers.

Pasco police Sgt. Rigo Pruneda said four of the five resource officers had received the COVID vaccine, and the last one had already caught the disease and had immunity.

Ki-Be Superintendent Pete Peterson told the Herald that all of the district’s 198 employees had followed the state requirement. But Klippert isn’t an employee of the district, and Peterson is relying on the sheriff’s office to comply.

While Benton County Sheriff Tom Croskrey has gotten vaccinated, he isn’t going to require any of his deputies to prove or disprove that they have gotten the shot, Undersheriff Jon Law told the Herald.

Croskrey was recently appointed to serve out the remaining portion of former Sheriff Jerry Hatcher’s term after a recall vote.

Klippert told the Herald that no one has asked him about his vaccination status or told him it is a requirement.

The Kennewick Republican already has been shut out of his Olympia offices in the state House of Representatives after an Executive Rules Committee voted that everyone must be fully vaccinated. The rule is expected to expire before the legislative session starts in January.

However, his status as a colonel in the Washington State Guard is not yet affected by his vaccination status.

Karina Shagren with the state military department explained that the state guard is under a different set of requirements because it is a volunteer organization, so it doesn’t fall under either the state or federal mandates.

“With that said — we rely on the state guard to assist during our domestic responses,” she told the Herald. “For instance — we had more than 30 members of the state guard go on state active duty to assist during the COVID response. As of Oct. 18 — it is a requirement that anyone who goes on (state active duty) will need to be vaccinated.”

Klippert on vaccine

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vaccines are effective at keeping people from getting seriously ill if they do get COVID-19.

“People can sometimes get COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated,” according to a CDC information page about the vaccines. “However, this only happens in a small proportion of people, even with the delta variant. When these infections occur among vaccinated people, they tend to be mild.”

Currently in the Tri-Cities, the highest rate of new cases of COVID-19 is in ages 15 to 39. And three Tri-Cities students between 10 and 19 have died from COVID complications.

Washington state officials argue the use of emergency powers because of the pandemic has saved lives, and they will continue to focus on the most effective tool to end the health crisis — vaccination.

While Klippert doesn’t object to other people getting vaccinated, Klippert has been opposed to the requirements put in place by Gov. Jay Inslee. He has tried unsuccessfully for a special session to make limits Inslee’s emergency powers.

Klippert also plans to headline a rally Wednesday, Nov. 3, against the federal mandate.

The 3 p.m. rally at 2465 Stevens Drive in Richland is for Hanford employees and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory workers who object to the federal vaccine rules.

This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.