The PSJA school board approved spending $692,000 in federal funds to give students who are vaccinated against COVID-19 a $25 gift card in an effort to increase vaccination rates and ultimately boost on-campus enrollment.
The district will use ESSER funds to pay for the gift cards, which are part of the district’s Voluntary Vaccination Incentive Program the board approved Monday.
Current PSJA ISD students who are 5 and older will be eligible for a one-time $25 gift card as long as they can show proof they are vaccinated by April 21.
The district expects some-27,000 students to be eligible.
PSJA Health Services Director Sulema Solis said the district is the first in the area to launch an incentive program for students.
She expects it will help the district put together a more accurate figure on student vaccination rates. So far, she said, the district knows about 9% of its student body is vaccinated.
“However, there may be plenty more that just have not brought us the documentation, we cannot require it of them,” Solis said. “But we’re hoping with this incentive this will allow them to bring us that documentation, we can have a better insight as to how many are vaccinated.”
A driving factor behind the program seems to be getting students back on campus in person.
In recent weeks, PSJA trustees have expressed concern over enrollment numbers, a perennial worry for most Rio Grande Valley districts.
Less than a tenth of students at the district currently learn virtually, a spokesperson said Tuesday.
Solis told the board that administration expects a robust vaccination percentage among the student body will ease fears and draw kids back to their classrooms.
“Once the general, the mass amount of students are vaccinated, hopefully we’ll bring all of our students back,” she said.
Trustee Jesus “Jesse” Zambrano noted that he would like to see some kind of district initiative that encouraged students to return.
“We know it’s still a choice, but what are we going to do to actually bring them in person?” he asked.
A variety of factors impact eligibility for a gift card.
According to Solis, to qualify for the incentive, students must receive their first and second doses of the Pfizer or Moderna shot, or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot, by April 21 to be eligible.
Proof of vaccination — a card or an IMMTrac2 printout — will be accepted by all of the district’s nurses and during free vaccine clinics at PSJA ISD.
Solis noted that students who are already vaccinated are eligible for a gift card regardless of when they got the vaccine. Individuals who did not receive the vaccine due to medical or religious exemptions aren’t eligible for the money.
A release said families from the district have two opportunities to get vaccinated this week: Wednesday at the PSJA Collegiate High School Santos Salinas Gym at 704 W. Ridge Road in San Juan; and Thursday at Jaime Escalante Middle School at 6123 S. Cage Blvd. in Pharr
“Thank you to our School Board of Trustees for approving this measure to help us provide this incentive for our families,” PSJA Superintendent Dr. Jorge L. Arredondo wrote in the release. “We also want to commend our PSJA Health Services Department and all team members who help us continue to provide this much needed service for our community.”
The district will announce the date for distribution of gift cards in May, the release stated. Questions about the program can be answered through the PSJA COVID-19 hotline at (956) 354-2015.
