As Illinois moves to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for educators and school staff, how will D158 react?

HUNTLEY – By now, many residents are aware of Gov. JB Pritzker’s Aug. 26 announcement mandating COVID-19 vaccines for individuals working in high-risk environments.

All health care workers, including nursing home employees, all pre-k through 12 teachers and staff, as well as higher education personnel and students are among the group of individuals required to get vaccinated.

Employees who are unable or unwilling to get vaccinated will be required to get tested for COVID-19 at least once a week, according to a statement by Pritzker’s office.

While the news of the vaccination mandate shocked some members of the community, those in the education sector appear to be fully on board with upholding Pritzker’s order.

The Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) President Dan Montgomery and Illinois Education Association (IEA) President Kathi Griffin both welcomed the mandate for educators and school staff.

“The surge of COVID-19 cases in our state reminds us that this vaccine mandate is a public health imperative. To implement it properly, widespread education and access to vaccines will be essential. For members who cannot, or will not, get vaccinated, we are glad to see the governor has implemented weekly COVID testing. We are committed to helping our locals negotiate the terms and implementation of the vaccine mandate and other safety policies in school districts, colleges, and universities statewide,” Montgomery and Griffin said in a joint statement.

As for Huntley Community School District 158 (D158), there doesn’t appear to be much pushback from educators or staff, given that 85% of individuals working in the district have already been vaccinated through clinics held at Huntley High School.

D158 Superintendent Scott Rowe had previously told My Huntley News that educators and staff were eager to do anything they could to keep students in classrooms.

D158 Early Childhood Center Program Aide Melissa Paddock said she was “100% for mandating the vaccine.”

“This decision by Governor Pritzker and the state does not come as a surprise as the rise in COVID-19 cases in our community over recent weeks, has seen other public and private entities move to make this a requirement for their staff. While we value choice wherever possible when making medical decisions, we also understand state and local officials’ responsibility to take the current rates of transmission seriously and respond accordingly with the mitigations we have available to us,” said Lesli Melendy, a D158 Board of Education member.

“We understand that this decision aims to safeguard the health of every individual in our schools and across our communities, and we will work to support staff in the wake of this change to ensure a safe and productive work environment for everyone in Huntley 158.”

Pritzker explained that the growth in COVID-19 positive cases among the unvaccinated was the reasoning behind his decision to mandate the vaccine for certain community members.

“The quick spread of this disease in Illinois and across the country is holding us all back from the post-pandemic life we so desperately want to embrace, and it’s harming the most vulnerable among us,” said Pritzker. “We are running out of time as our hospitals run out of beds. Vaccination remains our strongest tool to protect ourselves and our loved ones, to restore post-pandemic life to our communities, and most crucially, to maintain our healthcare system’s ability to care for anyone who walks through their doors in need of help—and Illinois is taking action to keep our communities safe.”

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is also upholding Pritzker’s vaccination mandate.

“The vast majority of hospitalizations, as well as cases and deaths, are among those who are unvaccinated. This has become a pandemic of the unvaccinated. We have safe, proven, and effective tools to turn the tide and end this pandemic. But until more people are vaccinated, masks are the order of the day and will help us slow the spread of the virus,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.

The governor and Ezike also announced a statewide indoor mask mandate for Illinois, regardless of vaccination status, that will be effective Aug. 30.