As the state vaccination deadline for educators arrived today (Oct. 18), 98% of Klamath County School District employees were in compliance – either by being fully vaccinated or submitting a valid exception.
“Our employees take their jobs seriously. They take the education of our community’s youth seriously,” said Glen Szymoniak, superintendent of the Klamath County School District. “This dedication helped ensure that students would not see a disruption in services and programs.”
The Klamath County School District has 895 employees who were subject to the Oct. 18 deadline. Of those, 640 are fully vaccinated and 237 were granted medical or religious exceptions.
Sixteen employees who are not yet in compliance will be put on unpaid administrative leave pending full vaccination status. Since these staff members work at various jobs and in different schools throughout the district, there should be no significant impact on students. Only one is a teacher, and that teacher will be in compliance by Oct. 20.
“The district does not anticipate any staffing issues due to the vaccine mandate,” Szymoniak said. “However, like other districts, we are struggling to fill some positions, including bus drivers, and have worked to find solutions. I want to publicly thank our staff for their hard work, support, and in many cases, extraordinary efforts, to keep our students in school, our kitchens operating, and our buses running.”