88% Of Edina Public Schools Staff Got COVID-19 Vaccines: District

EDINA, MN — Almost 90 percent of staff members in Edina Public Schools are vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to officials.

The district’s board approved a vaccine-or-test requirement for all staff members last fall but put the requirement on hold in November after a federal court suspended the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s vaccine mandate for organizations with 100 or more employees.

The Edina Public Schools board passed an updated vaccine-or-test resolution that took effect in mid-January.

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Board chair Erica Allenburg said the district is one of just two across Minnesota that have a vaccine-or-test requirement for staff members. The St. Paul Public Schools system also requires staff to be vaccinated or get tested regularly.

Edina Public Schools Superintendent Stacie Stanley on Monday provided the district’s board with a COVID-19 mitigation update, which included statistics on the vaccine-or-test requirement.

Those statistics showed 1,415 of the district’s 1,603 staff members, or about 88.3 percent, were vaccinated against the coronavirus, as of Monday’s meeting.

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The Edina Public Schools board’s resolution requires all staff members to be fully vaccinated or submit a negative test at least once per week.

Employees are considered to be “fully vaccinated” two weeks after receiving the second dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Those who received the second dose of the vaccine at least six months ago must also get a booster shot to be considered “fully vaccinated,” the resolution states.

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The vaccine-or-test requirement also applies to vendors and their employees who have direct contact with students, including those in child nutrition, transportation, mental health and special services, as well as athletic trainers.

Staff members and vendors who do not comply with the requirement or submit false or inaccurate proof of vaccination could face “disciplinary action consistent with any applicable collective bargaining agreement,” the resolution states.

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Newly hired Edina Public Schools employees must provide proof of full vaccination against the coronavirus within 45 days of being hired or submit weekly tests until they can provide proof.

Almost 84 percent of EPS high school students were vaccinated against the coronavirus, as of Feb. 4, according to the district. Just under 75 percent of students in grades 6-8 and about half of all elementary students were vaccinated, officials said.

Edina Public Schools officials are set to lift the district's universal mask mandate on Wednesday, due to a recent drop in coronavirus cases within the district and throughout Edina, as well as increasing vaccination rates.