Amid protests, Prince William Co. school board passes employee vaccine status mandate
MANASSAS, Va. (7News) — 7News On Your Side went to a Prince William County Schools board meeting Wednesday night looking for answers on the district's next vaccination measures.
Conflict and unruly behavior in the meeting delayed those answers.
The issue on the table was the "Resolution For Safe Learning and Safe Workplace."
The resolution requires school officers, employees, and those providing services to the district who interact with students to disclose their vaccination status to the Department of Human Resources by Nov. 1. Those who are unvaccinated or who refuse to disclose their vaccine status would have to undergo weekly testing and disclose the results to the Department of Human Resources.
SEE ALSO | CHA-CHING: Prince William Co. teachers receive pandemic bonuses up to $1,600
The Board eventually passed the resolution, but the evening didn't come without interruption. The vote on the resolution did not happen as scheduled.
Protestors who said they were against Critical Race Theory grew impatient around 7:30 p.m. or around 30 minutes after the closed session was supposed to end and the public meeting began.
The meeting chambers had been open since 6 p.m.
Some of those who waited inside shouted insults and accusations at board members, who were not in the room, and also berated police and security officers.
There were conflicts involving the refusal to follow the meeting's mask requirement, arguments over CRT, and at one point someone singing "Amazing Grace" was drowned out by a group singing "The Star Spangled Banner."
Just after 8 p.m., moments after another confrontation, police and security announced they were clearing the building.
7News and other news reporters were also forced to leave.
Finally, around 9:30 p.m. a school district spokesperson announced that the meeting was set to resume, where the resolution then passed.
