The Coahoma County School District Board approved an incentive plan at Tuesday’s meeting that could pay employees and students for taking the COVID vaccine.
ESSER 3 funding will pay CCSD employees $500 if they are fully vaccinated by November 15. Students will receive a $50 gift card if they are vaccinated by November 15. The parents of the vaccinated students will also receive a $50 gift card. Only students in grades 7 through 12 would be able to take the vaccine as children younger than age 12 are ineligible to take the vaccine.
“This will be retroactive because people in the community are going to ask what about me, I’ve been vaccinated?” said superintendent Dr. Ilean Richards.
Richards said those who have already been vaccinated would have to show proof.
“This was just another way of doing it,” Richards said.
Richards said being fully vaccinated means taking Moderna or Pfizer twice or Johnson & Johnson once.
She said last Friday she received an email from the Mississippi Department of Education that encourages all school districts to look at a vaccination plan incentive.
“This email came on the heels of an email to the State Department of Education from the United States Department of Education and a push by President Biden,” Richards said.
Richards said incentives range from $1 to $1,000
“I probably looked at about 25 school districts and the average that was being paid out for vaccinations was $500,” Richards said.
“This is voluntary. This is not something this school district has to do. Staff members do not have to participate in this plan, but again, this was an option the federal government wanted to give the school district to help facilitate staff members and students who are eligible to become vaccinated to try to stem the tide of the spread of COVID-19.”
