September 7, 2021
Dear Geneseo Parents, Guardians and Members of the Community,
On Friday, the Illinois State Board of Education and Gov. JB Pritzker announced the compliance timeline for school personnel to be vaccinated for COVID-19 or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing has been extended from September 5 to September 19.
It remains our intent to be in compliance with Executive Order 2021-22, and we will continue to have open internal dialogue with our staff regarding how we will verify their proof of vaccination and coordinate weekly testing for those who are unvaccinated.
This extension helps our administration work through the process of establishing a COVID-19 testing program that serves the needs of our staff and enables us to continue with in-person learning for our students, which remains one of our top priorities.
We greatly appreciate our staff who have been vaccinated, but also respect the decision of those who choose not to be vaccinated. The CDC and Illinois Department of Health have made it clear that vaccination is the greatest mitigation factor in our ongoing battle against COVID-19, so I want to thank everyone who has submitted proof of vaccination or scheduled their first dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Once again, we as a district need every employee to remain eligible to work so we can keep our doors open all-day, every-day, and we are working hard to ensure we don’t lose a single person as a result of these various protocols.
Regardless of how you feel about the challenges we’ve faced since the beginning of the pandemic, it’s clear our collective patience and resilience have been tested. It’s not been an easy stretch for any of us. However, it continues to be my hope that we will stick together and focus on something we can all agree upon: The daily, in-person education of our students, as well as the health and wellbeing of everyone in our schools.
We will continue to keep you updated.
Dr. Adam Brumbaugh
Superintendent
Geneseo Community Unit School District #228
UPDATE: At the request of @ieanea, @iftaft, @IllinoisASA and @ilprincipals, @GovPritzker extends educator vaccine or testing requirement to allow schools more time to put testing and accountability measures in place. First dose or testing deadline is now Sept. 19. pic.twitter.com/WMPpEyYaRi
— Illinois State Board of Education (@ISBEnews) September 3, 2021