Fresno-area colleges see at least one person quit, others on leave over vaccine mandate
One State Center Community College District employee has resigned, and up to nine have been placed on administrative leave due to non-compliance with the district’s vaccine mandate, according to district spokesperson Lucy Ruiz.
The number of employees who have reported their vaccination status was 2,682 as of Thursday. The district is one of 44 to implement a vaccine mandate for its students and employees, according to California Community College officials. There are 73 districts in the state.
The employee vaccine mandate went into effect on Oct. 15. The student mandate goes into effect Nov. 15. Unlike the vaccine mandates being set for K-12 teachers — and soon, students — community colleges have been left to make their own rules.
The rollout of the vaccine mandate has exacerbated some existing institutional challenges, according to State Center Federation of Teachers President Keith Ford.
The union leader said it’s also introduced new ones into the mix.
“Too often, SCFT has had to intervene with an administrator to correct an interpretation of the mandate’s reach and scope,” he told The Bee. “This is not our job, and yet it has frequently fallen to us. In the case of the latter, we now have faculty who are teaching only online — whose duties are fully online until Spring — being made to come to campus twice a week for COVID testing. We have and will continue to object to this both on the level of member safety and on the level of fiscal responsibility.”
However, Ford said, “none of this is any one person’s fault or oversight. These problems are indicative in many ways of the hasty timeline of this mandate and, as stated above, of pre-existing gaps in the District’s communications.”
The California State University and the University of California put in place mandates over the summer, but State Center only recently implemented a mandate after the semester had already begun.
According to district policy, all employees who enter district-owned properties or facilities must be vaccinated, and “all employees must be prepared at any time to report to District-owned facilities in person for work-related purposes.”
“Even if an adjunct is living in Utah,” Ford said.
Madera and Clovis Community College have no employees on paid leave due to non-compliance, according to Ruiz. Reedley College has between one and three pending review, and Fresno City, between four and six awaiting review.
Although K-12 employers are offering testing as an alternative to the vaccine, testing is only an option for employees with approved medical or religious exemptions at State Center.
“All other employees are expected to be in compliance with the District’s vaccination policy,” Ruiz said.
Fresno State
As of Monday, 85%, or 2,842 of Fresno State’s state and auxiliary employees, had reported full vaccination status, according to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard. For students, 88% of the nearly 24,000 student body reported full vaccination status. Students who will not be on campus are not required to show proof of vaccination. Those with a medical or religious exemption who are on campus must be tested once a week.
The vaccination requirement went into effect on Sept. 30.
For some employees covered by unions, the compliance date has not yet passed, according to Fresno State spokesperson Lisa Boyles Bell. The upcoming dates are Oct. 27 and Nov. 26.
“In consultation with the CSU, we will implement sequential progressive discipline for those employees who do not comply with the CSU Interim Vaccine Policy,” she said in a statement. “Any such action will be in accordance with each respective collective bargaining agreement.”
The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Read more from The Bee’s Education Lab at our website.