Esko board raises substitute pay, reacts to federal mandate

Like many school district officials across the region and state, Esko school board members adopted a policy this week requiring all district employees to either be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or wear masks and test weekly.

Board members did not have much of a decision on whether or not to adopt the policy on Monday, as it is proposed to be mandated through the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, meaning the district could be fined for not being in compliance.

“To everyone listening, I wish I had something else to say besides we are required to do this by today,” said superintendent Aaron Fischer during a meeting that drew a large crowd. “OSHA could do a spot check tomorrow if they wanted to.”

Initially, the courts placed a stay on the order, but the Sixth Circuit Court upheld the mandate, requiring all employers with more than 100 employees to implement this protocol by Jan. 10. Currently, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments about the policies, but with no decision before the Jan. 10 deadline, the district was forced to put the policy in place.

The district was given the option of Policy 490, which would have required all employees to be fully vaccinated, or Policy 491, which states that, “any employee that chooses to be vaccinated against Covid-19 must be fully vaccinated no later than Jan. 10, 2022. Any employee not fully vaccinated by Jan. 10, 2022, will be subject to the regular testing and face covering requirements of this policy until fully vaccinated.”

“I certainly support vaccinations and believe that they are good, but I also believe that people deserve to make that decision so I am supporting and recommending 491,” Fischer told the board.

While reading through the policy, school board member Leona Johnson said she did not feel that the quarantine requirement of 10 days for asymptomatic employees was fair, since the CDC is now recommending a five-day quarantine. Other board members and the superintendent agreed that changing the quarantine requirement within the policy was valid and doable, since it is what is recommended by the CDC. But, in order to do what is best for the community on a smaller scale, Fischer suggested waiting to change the requirement in the policy until it is recommended by the Minnesota Department of Health.

Board member Todd Rengo made a motion to put Policy 491 in place and told his fellow board members and people in attendance that he did not feel that the board is in the place to make public health decisions and that it needed to go along with the guidance of the individuals who are. Rengo’s motion also gave administrative power to the superintendent to change the quarantine period to five days if it is recommended by the state. Steve McConnell seconded Rengo’s motion and the board voted to put Policy 491 in place. The district must have the policy up and running by Feb. 9 if the courts do not bar the federal policy.

In other business, the board made the decision to raise substitute pay from $120 a day to $150 a day, after neighboring districts recently raised rates. Fischer reported the district was already losing some substitutes to districts offering higher pay at a time when the district cannot afford to lose any help. The intention of raising the pay rate was to keep those substitutes that have been working for the district at Esko schools, not only to bring new substitutes in. The board discussed potentially revisiting this discussion in a few months to see if the pay raise was successful in keeping substitutes and checking to see if neighboring districts have made their rates even higher.

The board also accepted letters of resignation from three elementary school teachers, and thanked them for their years of service. Elementary principal Brian Harker said he has started the process of hiring new teachers to fill the positions. In other years, the hiring process would not begin until late spring, but Harker said the shortage of teachers available meant getting a jump on potential hires.

Esko school board officers did not change from the interim positions appointed in December, despite having a new board vote. Jerry Frederick was elected as board chairman, Todd Rengo is the vice chairman, and Maggie Sunnarborg is treasurer. In the only contested vote, Steve McConnell was elected clerk over Leona Johnson (who nominated him before Sunnarborg nominated her) by a 3-2 vote. Board member Jeff Salo was absent Monday.

The board also voted to continue meeting the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. and to keep the fourth Monday open for special meetings when needed, starting in February. The next board meeting is set for Jan. 24.