The Mirror Newspapers Reflecting Life Along The Maumee River
BY NANCY GAGNET | MIRROR REPORTER — Staff members in the Maumee school district will roll up their sleeves this week for their first doses of the coronavirus vaccine.
Superintendent Dr. Todd Cramer discussed the vaccine distribution plan at the February 8 school board meeting.
On Friday and Saturday, February 12-13, Maumee City Schools staff will participate in a large vaccination event taking place at The University of Toledo for K-12 educators. Maumee district employees will be among the approximately 6,600 individuals from school districts throughout Lucas County signed up to receive the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. The second dose is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, March 5-6.
The district has scheduled remote learning days for Friday, February 12 and Friday, March 5 to allow the flexibility needed for staff to receive the shots during the day. Getting the vaccine is not mandated; however, approximately 85 percent, or 370 staff members, have registered to receive it, Cramer said.
“We are very pleased with that 85 percent,” he said.
Those eligible for the shots are teachers, administrators, building substitutes, bus drivers, coaches and support staff.
The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department is coordinating the effort. This is the second week educators in Ohio are eligible for the vaccine.
“We were very pleased when we learned we were in week two because we were disappointed quite frankly when we weren’t in week one,” Cramer said.
Logistics were the driving factor is selecting the schools in the Columbus and Cincinnati area that were chosen to get the vaccine in the first week, he added.
Cramer expressed his appreciation to Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, The University of Toledo and Mercy Health for staging the large vaccine site. He also credited Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for his efforts with the vaccine rollout.
“I don’t think we could ask for a more responsive governor. Within a 12-hour span, he personally e-mailed us back twice when we asked questions and shared concerns,” said Cramer. “I don’t know too many governors in states the size of Ohio who would take the time to e-mail back school districts with individual questions and concerns, so just a big thank-you to him for that.”
Also at the meeting, the board took the following action:
• Approved getting bids for the purchase of two 72-passenger buses to replace two 2004 buses.
• Approved amendments to the policy related to inter-district open enrollment by setting active beginning and end dates for that policy.
• Approved retaining legal services from the law firms Bricker & Eckler and Spengler Nathanson.
• Discussed the option of allowing a work camp event to take place in the summer of 2022. The event would be coordinated through First Presbyterian Church in Maumee, with volunteers utilizing Maumee High School as a base site. The board moved in favor of allowing a resolution to support the event.
• Heard a presentation from Nancy Sayre, director of communications, regarding communication efforts during the pandemic.
• Entered into executive session to discuss the investigation of a public employee, compensation of public employees and the evaluation of the superintendent.
