The Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools have extended the start date for a COVID testing program to Jan. 10.
Originally planned to start Dec. 31, the program’s start date now is Jan. 10, according to district officials.
Stephen Linkous, the district’s chief of staff, reported at the Dec. 7 school board meeting that there are more than 50 testing sites in the school district, and a lot of equipment to move to the sites.
The new date will be more closely aligned with federally mandated testing requirements, he said.
Linkous said the school district has a testing policy, not a vaccine mandate, for employees. The district highly encouraged employees and volunteers to get a COVID vaccine, but did not mandate it, according to officials.
Those who do not have COVID vaccines are required to get a COVID test each week, under the district’s policy.
Some testing sites are already operating under an initial pilot testing plan, Linkous said.
School starts on Jan. 3 after the holiday break, and the district waited until Jan. 10 to implement the start of the testing program, he said. It would have been tougher trying to start the program on the day that everyone returns, according to Linkous.
Board member Wanda Brownlee Paige favored professional development presentations on the testing program to make sure all employees had the opportunity to hear about it and ask questions.
Every employee is receiving direct communications about the testing program, and they have been uploading their vaccine records to a district website, according to district officials.
The district also has procedures for volunteers to report their vaccine status.
Linkous reported that 2,800 staff members out of 4,400 employees have uploaded their vaccine cards so far, which is 63 percent.
It is within the range that the district expected to participate, he said. He expects to see more staff participate, he added.
The board has already approved a rollover plan for employees to either roll over sick leave or receive a payout if they do not use the five additional sick days they will receive for getting a vaccine. If the five sick days are not used, they can roll them over after June 30, according to Linkous. They may take a payout of $150 per sick day that they do not use.
The district has a prorated system on the sick days. Those who turned in vaccination cards in December will receive five days of sick leave; while those who turn them in in January will receive four days, according to Linkous. That continues with three sick days for turning in vaccination cards in February; two in March; and one in April.
The KCK school district is planning a vaccine event for ages 5 to 11 from noon to 2 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 17, at Grant Elementary School, 1510 N. 4th St. in Kansas City, Kansas.
The vaccine event, “Strikeout Covid,” is cosponsored by the Unified Government Health Department and the Kansas City Royals. It is for children ages 5 to 11.
Youth who receive the Pfizer vaccine will get a free meal on site, and will also receive other giveaways. The Health Department will administer the vaccine.
Parents or guardians must be present at the event. There will be no vaccines at this event for those over 11, and no booster shots will be offered. Masks will be required at the event.
More vaccination events will be planned after the first of the year at other locations, according to Dr. Anna Stubblefield, superintendent.
