Oregon’s COVID vaccine mandate is exacerbating the teacher shortage within the state.
Parents have protested Bend-La Pine School District’s decision to fire Ensworth Elementary School teacher Kelly Lundy, La Pine Middle School teacher Zachary Webb, and Mountain View High teacher Mark Schulz for refusing to get vaccinated or fill out religious exemption forms.
Another outlet reported that nearly 40 people were holding signs and showing support for the educators during an emergency public hearing.
The school board voted 6-0 to fire Schulz, Webb, and Lundy. All three appeared on “Fox & Friends First” Friday to explain why they didn’t get the vaccine.
“I didn’t want to get the vaccine because of the safety and efficacy … And so now what that is and what the school district is a secular institution … to request me for a statement of my faith – Iwasn’t going to use my faith at a convenience to keep a job,” Lundy said.
“It’s been over a year now since we’ve actually been put on unpaid leave and now they decide, hey, you know what, let’s go ahead and fire you guys. So I have the same question.”
School districts across the country have been struggling with an exodus of teachers since the pandemic. A survey conducted earlier this year by the National Center for Education Statistics found that 44% of public schools report having full- or part-time teacher vacancies.
The survey, published in March, found that 61% of public schools reporting at least one vacancy cited the pandemic for the open jobs. Most of the vacancies were due to resignations, not retirement, the survey reported.
Mark Schultz said that the state’s vaccine mandate “doesn’t make any sense.”
“All along we’ve been wanting support from our district, from our administrators, and we’ve gotten absolutely none. In fact, we feel we’re coerced into the position that we’re in right now. We were told, hey, just sign the form. It’ll get approved,” Schultz said.
“It’s the lowest bar that you can need to keep your job. And we weren’t willing to do that,” Schultz added. “We didn’t want to give up our constitutional rights and were more willing to allow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to get rubber-stamped along with everyone else’s exceptions. And so, no, we didn’t get the support, and it doesn’t make any sense.”
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The firing of the three educators came after Pulliam recently filed a petition to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to repeal the state’s vaccine mandate.
Back in August 19, 2021, Gov. Kate Brown announced health care workers and all teachers, educators, support staff, and volunteers in K-12 schools would need to be fully vaccinated.
Oregon Moms Union claimed that “this rule is exacerbating public education staffing shortages by banning qualified teachers, staff, and volunteer parents from classrooms for not being vaccinated.”
The petition is part of a process to review the validity of OHA’s vaccine mandate.
Within 90 days after receipt of the petition, the agency will either deny the petition or initiate rulemaking proceedings.
