Majority Of Bernards Township School Staff Is COVID Vaccinated

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Bernards Township Schools are off to a good start with more than 92 percent of staff members vaccinated against COVID-19, officials reported.

"The vast majority of staff have been vaccinated at this point which is good for us because not only do we have a high percentage of people vaccinated but also because you have a low number of people who have to get weekly testing done," said Superintendent Nick Markarian during Monday night's Board of Education meeting. "It makes it a little bit more manageable that we have a fairly low number of people who need the weekly testing."

In total, 92.5 percent of staff are vaccinated, said Bernards Township Assistant Superintendent Sean Siet.

This falls in line with Gov. Phil Murphy's mandate where all New Jersey school teachers and staff, as well as state employees, must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 18 or undergo regular testing for COVID-19 at least once or twice a week. Read More: NJ Teachers, State Employees Must Be Vaccinated Or Face Testing

Overall, Markarian said the district has had a "very good opening" to the school year as students adjust to returning to in-person learning, masks, schedule changes and lunch changes.

In addition to the "significant changes," Markarian noted the district has been implementing a one-to-one Chromebook initiative in the middle and high school with the hopes to have all devices out to students by the end of September.

The district is also facing challenges similar to those in surrounding districts in regards to lack of bus drivers.

"We are challenged with transportation... in respect with staffing, said Markarian. "This is a national, statewide problem with having drivers to drive school buses."

Bridgewater reported a shortage of bus drivers as well impacting more than 900 students in the district. Read More: 900 Bridgewater Students Affected As School Short Bus Drivers

"This is a struggling situation. We are working with our vendors," said Markarian.

In the meantime, Markarian noted that there are no substitute drivers. So if a driver calls out sick it will create delays or allow routes to remain uncovered. The district will alert families if this issue occurs.

The district is also looking to hire more staff in the food service program. The gap in employees was attributed to there not being a food program last year due to the pandemic.

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