NYC schools prepping for potential staff shortages as vaccine mandate nears, report says

Teacher vaccine

New York City public schools could lose more than 10,000 teachers next week when the city's vaccine mandate for all employees takes effect. (Staten Island Advance/Annalise Knudson)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With all New York City public school employees required to have at least one dose of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine by early next week, schools across the city are preparing for potential staff shortages as thousands of teachers and other staff members remain unvaccinated, according to a Chalkbeat report.

As of Monday, Sept. 27, all New York City public school workers will be required to prove that they have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

Those who do not provide proof of vaccination and are not on an approved accommodation or exemption will be placed on leave without pay on Tuesday, Sept. 28.

As of Wednesday, Sept. 22, approximately 87% of the city’s 78,000 public schools teachers were vaccinated, according to the most recent data provided by NYC Schools.

However, the 13% who remain unvaccinated represent over 10,000 teachers citywide, meaning many schools throughout the five boroughs may be left scrambling to fill those positions early next week.

During a Thursday press conference, Mayor Bill de Blasio showed little concern for the issue, claiming that the city has ample resources to address any staffing shortages.

“Any situation where additional staffing is needed, we have staff that can be deployed very quickly to wherever they’re needed in the city,” de Blasio told reporters. “The message for parents is that you’re going to have buildings with only vaccinated adults in them.”

The mayor said the city has “thousands and thousands of vaccinated experienced substitute teachers” ready to fill-in for any unvaccinated teachers placed on leave.

Schools are expected to receive additional funding on Monday to address any staffing shortages, according to an email from the Office of the Chief Operating Officer obtained by Chalkbeat.

The amount of funding received will vary by school based on the number of teachers at that school who have not complied with the city’s vaccine mandate, the email said.

The new funding will allow schools to hire certified teachers as “regular substitutes” through the remainder of the school year, according to the email.

Some Staten Island schools could be hit particularly hard next week by the implementation of the vaccine mandate, with Councilman Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore) claiming that numerous borough schools are set to lose dozens of teachers.

“Hi @NYCSchools, Petrides School has 86 unvaxxed staff, IS34R has 35, IS75R over 50 & IS7R over 40…how are they supposed to operate on Tuesday? Seriously,” the councilman tweeted.

In addition to the potential teacher shortage, schools will also have to fill numerous other staffing positions, with nearly 20,000 other NYC Schools employees remaining unvaccinated, according to city data.

To help address this issue, the city has informed staff members from NYC Schools’ central offices that they may be deployed at schools throughout the five boroughs to help mitigate any staff shortages, according to Chalkbeat.

Leaders from the teachers’ and administrators’ unions, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (CSA) have called on the city to delay implementation of the vaccine mandate, claiming that schools are not yet ready to handle the impending loss of staff.

“Our schools are not ready for the implementation of the vaccine mandate,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “I hope for once City Hall is listening to its own school leaders and finally starts to put together a reasonable plan to face the challenge of keeping our children safe.”

The unions have been in the midst of various legal battles in an attempt to block the city’s vaccine mandates.

On Wednesday, a state Supreme Court judge ruled to lift the temporary injunction on the city’s vaccine mandate, with a final ruling expected early next week.

“Petitioners will be unable to establish a likelihood of ultimate success on the merits,” said Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Laurence Love, who has been presiding over the case. He added that “[the petitioners] will be similarly unable to prevail in a balancing of the equities, as the health interests of the general public far outweigh petitioners’ interests.”

In a separate legal dispute, the UFT prevailed against the city in an arbitration hearing that will allow unvaccinated teachers with religious or medical exemptions to continue working for schools in some capacity outside the classroom.

Previously, these teachers would have been placed on leave without pay despite the exemptions.

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