COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Education Association is calling for a vaccination, or biweekly testing mandate for school staff, among other demands related to COVID-19, union leaders announced Tuesday afternoon.

During a press conference, John Coneglio, the union’s president, said Columbus teachers are prepared to sign a memorandum of understanding with the district on the same terms as a recent vaccine or testing policy in Cincinnati Public Schools.

Coneglio said Columbus school nurses are facing a “state of emergency” — are overworked and under-resourced. 

“It's time we enact real enforceable health and safety measures and come together as a community to avoid massive student, staff member or administrative quarantines and illness,” he said. 

The Columbus Education Association is also calling for access to rapid testing kits in schools, the implementation of a daily online symptom screening check and more assistance for school nurses with contact tracing tasks.

The union held its press conference outside of an administrative building where the Columbus Board of Education held a meeting Tuesday evening. 

During the board meeting, Columbus City Schools Superintendent Talisa Dixon said the district will make rapid tests available to students and staff who are symptomatic or close contacts of a positive case. She also said the district is finalizing a contract with an outside vendor that would provide nursing staff to handle the district’s contact tracing. 

“We know contact tracing can be time consuming, and we are committed to allocating resources that will alleviate the ongoing process for our own school staff members,” Dixon said.

So far this school year, 797 students and 167 staff members in the district have tested positive for COVID-19, which is less than 2% of the district’s 47,000 students and 9,000 employees, Dixon said.

“This is consistent with what is happening regarding COVID rates in our community, and gives us confidence that the students are able to come to school without significantly increasing their risk of COVID exposure,” she said. 

During its press conference, the union said it recently surveyed 2,500 of its 4,200 members about COVID-19, finding that 73% of respondents do not have confidence that the district’s protocols are keeping them safe. 

Coneglio reported that 22% of respondents said they were aware of students returning to school during a quarantine or isolation period. Only 30% said the administration in their building was properly enforcing the district’s indoor-mask mandate, he said.

Jacqueline Broderick Patton, the school nurse senior faculty representative for the union, said nurses are working late into the night on a routine basis to keep up with all the contact tracing. 

“Nurses are sounding the alarm and asking for help that we desperately need in order to keep students and staff safe,” she said. 

Dixon said health and safety as well as keeping students learning in-person are among the district’s top priorities. She did not discuss the union’s call for a vaccine or testing policy, and a spokesperson for the district did not have any further comment.