As of Jan. 3, Rocky View Schools (RVS) requires all staff, volunteers, and visitors to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, a recent negative test result, or a medical exemption letter in order to enter an RVS facility.
The mandate, announced in early October 2021, has been met with some resistance from parents and staff who presented the division with more than 900 Notice of Liability forms following the announcement.
One of the participants was Rebecca Reaville, a long-time Airdrie resident and school bus driver with First Student. She claimed the new policy is affecting the livelihood of her coworkers.
“My concern is from a perspective of a mother – that's where my concern comes from, because I have kids,” Reaville said.
She added First Student is only a contract employer with RVS, but is still required to follow in line with the division’s mandate.
Jay Brock, spokesperson for First Student, said the safety of student passengers remains the organization's top priority, and the company ensures parents that all routes for RVS are currently covered with drivers.
“The extreme rise in Omicron cases is affecting all industries, including school bus transportation,” he said in an email statement on Jan. 6. “First Student is complying with Rocky View School District’s request that all school bus drivers be vaccinated.”
Reaville claimed many drivers are disgruntled by the fact their vaccination status and rapid test results will potentially be disclosed to not only their immediate boss, but also to dispatchers and other staff who will be privy to their health information.
She added many drivers have said they will not be going back to work this year, and a considerable number of employees will be taking unpaid leave as a result of the vaccine mandate, potentially affecting more than 300 students.
“When I met my employer at the end of [2021], they said it was in fact more that would be affected by the potential driver shortage,” Reaville said.
Reaville said First Student did not yet know as of Jan. 5 if potential driver shortages would affect students when in-person classes resume next week.
“There is no preparation for this shortfall, and it will affect many,” she claimed.
While Reaville said she can’t speak for every bus driver, she said she would like to see testing kept private between the driver and their immediate boss.
“That would alleviate some of the driver’s frustrations because they just don’t want their information shared about,” she said citing cases of bullying amongst drivers as a reason for the concern.
“You don’t want to expose yourself in a workplace like that because now people are pointing fingers and being rude.”
Reaville said First Student drivers have managed to successfully drive students throughout the pandemic without any problems or issues, and to mandate vaccinations at this point seems “completely irrational.”
“That’s where a huge frustration comes in, because we’ve been doing this already for two years and now you want to throw this mandate in here,” she said. “We’ve already proven our ability to do it.”
She added the disgruntled drivers have submitted Notice of Liability forms to First Student as well.
Editor's note: Sections of this article have been removed since initial publication.
Carmen Cundy, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @carmenrcundy
