The Pella School Board narrowly passed a COVID-19 vaccination policy for all employees to be in compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandates for testing, masking, and vaccinations at a special meeting Thursday.

Board members Tim Tripp and Jesse Peterson were in opposition, and Board President Joan Corbin, Gary Coppock, and Elisa Klahsen voted in support for a 3-2 margin.

Tripp opposed the policy drafted by the Iowa Association of School Boards and district legal counsel, believing it was too strong when it came to enforcing vaccines and that a different approach should be taken; Peterson was opposed to all mandates involving COVID-19 vaccines, mask wearing or testing, mainly over concerns of the effectiveness and safety of those enforced precautions. Coppock voted in favor of the new policy despite his own objections, concerned about the legal ramifications for the district and board if there was no policy in place. Klahsen and Corbin supported the measure in part due to the legal ramifications of opposition, but also stated their support for public health measures and the need for collective effort to end the pandemic.

Prior to board discussion, two public commenters expressed opposition to approval of any mandate. Superintendent Greg Ebeling says his recommendations came at advice of the district’s legal counsel.

Employees can either receive COVID-19 vaccines and prove they have received the full amount doses to be considered fully protected, or be subject to weekly testing and wearing masks in any indoor space or school-owned vehicle daily. Those who do not comply with the vaccinations or testing and mask wearing are subject to district discipline — and if school administration does not enforce the policies as written, they and the schools are subject to fines from the federal government.

All testing as part of the requirement will be initially paid for by federal COVID-19 funds. Ebeling says they will have to purchase and administer the tests for unvaccinated employees in-house, and that their reporting system is subject to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) in terms of public release of information.

Details of what was approved can be found in the Pella School Board’s special meeting agenda.

The Pella School Board intended to have the policy in place by Monday, when OSHA’s rule was set to begin. All board members committed to changing or overturning the rules if the U.S. Supreme Court rules against some or all of the federal mandate in the near future — they are set to hear the case on Friday, but a final decision could take several months.