NYC fires hundreds more teachers for refusing mandatory vaccination

The New York City Department of Education has terminated an additional 850 teachers for resisting the vaccine mandate bringing the total of school employees who lost their job over vaccine mandates almost to 2,000 despite teacher shortages throughout the country.

450 got vaccinated before the deadline and are reportedly “returning to their prior schools or work locations.” Those who refused to show up with papers were “deemed to have voluntarily resigned.”

According to The New York Post, close to 1,300 DOE employees who took a year’s unpaid leave —  with benefits — agreed to show proof of COVID vaccination by Sept. 5 or be “deemed to have voluntarily resigned.” 

Of those staffers, 450 got a shot by the deadline and “are returning to their prior schools or work locations,” DOE officials told The Post. They include some 225 teachers and 135 paraprofessionals.

The 850 let go makes roughly 1,950 DOE staffers terminated since the vaccine mandate took effect on Oct. 29, 2021.

Meanwhile, teacher shortages throughout the country are very real, and New York is not immune. New York is expected to need 180,000 new teachers in the next decade.

In August, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul attempted to address the crisis in the making, stating that it is her job to make sure schools and teachers have the resources they need to succeed.

“My job is to make sure they have the resources,” Hochul said during in an interview with WPIX.

Hochul explained that her administration had a record budget of $32.8 billion to go toward education this year.

“The stress that our teachers and our students have been under, making sure that there are mental health support systems in the schools for the kids who really were just hammered by this disruption in their lives. But also, the loss of teachers,” Hochul explained. “It just was too much for too many, especially those who are taking care of their own kids. So it’s going to be a challenge.”