At the Unit 5 District Office Sept. 27 teachers and community members rallied against weekly testing and the Unit 5 officials who told a handful of teachers they could not teach if they had not provided a negative test.
“We are here today because we feel backed into a corner. We don’t want to be here, we want to be in our classrooms teaching,” said Laura Feely, Unit 5 teacher. “But today Unit 5 teachers were excluded from their buildings if they did not either give proof of vaccination or submit to weekly testing and provide a negative test to their school administrator.”
Feely was told by her primary care that she didn’t have to test because she wasn’t experiencing symptoms. Feely said asymptomatic- vaccinated teachers, despite a COVID-positive test, continue to teach and are not excluded from their classrooms. Asymptomatic-vaccinated teachers do not have to quarantine, according to Feely.
“We have been deemed all of a sudden unsafe today, we were fine on Friday, but today we are considered unsafe because we have not yet submitted what we feel is an unnecessary test.,” said Feely. “We feel it is an unnecessary test because none of us have been identified as a close contact, nor are we experiencing any COVID-like symptoms. We should not be forced to either get the vaccine or submit to weekly testing as a condition to our employment.”
At the rally there were signs staked into the ground that read: ‘Unit 5 Now Hiring’
Feely said testing and vaccinations are private medical decisions that teachers can make for themselves.
“We feel like our medical privacy is out the window, and our personal and medical freedoms are being infringed upon,” said Feely. “We want our district to stand up for their teachers and students and say no more to these mandates. We want our district to stand up, push back, and fight for local control.”
Morton Superintendent Jeff Hill made at statement that indicated that school boards need to gain local control over issues like weekly testing and vaccination mandates.
Danya Brown, Unit 5 Director of Communications and Community Relations said any employee can submit a religious exemption request for consideration.
“It would need to be done in writing. This information has been shared with our staff. Curt Richardson said it is important to note that according to the Executive Order, religious exemptions apply to the vaccinations but not to the requirement for weekly testing,” said Brown.
This E.O. is an overreach and abuse of power. We hope that more community members in McLean county begin to stand up and push back for their children and their children’s teachers. What is happening right now is not okay.
