By Blake Haas
BLOOMINGTON – The Superintendent of McLean County’s largest school district says the district will follow Gov. JB Pritzker’s executive orders of vaccine mandates and masks for children in the classroom.
Unit 5 Superintendent Dr. Kristen Weikle said although the district administrators did not design the plan, the school will follow the Governor’s orders.
“It’s been made clear to us that we are required to follow the executive order, so that’s what we’re going to do. It’s not anything that Unit 5 chose to implement this year on our own.”
Unit 5 has partnered with the University of Illinois to voluntarily test students, teachers, and staff members for the COVID-19 virus through saliva-based testing. Parents must give consent for their children to participate.
Speaking with WJBC’s Scott Miller, Dr. Weikle said she has consulted with school attorneys on the matter along with other district administrators around the state.
“Because of the Governors’ executive order, and things that we’ve heard from lots of school attorney’s we are following that mandate. And so we’re working with staff to provide the information in regards to that.”
Last Friday, the Governor announced a two-week extension of vaccination requirements for individuals in high-risk settings like schools.
According to Unit 5’s COVID data tracker, 238 students were identified as close contacts to students who tested positive for COVID-19. The school district’s data tracker also reports 40 students have tested positive throughout the district this year.
Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].
