The 2019-20 Salem-Keizer School Board (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
NOTE: Salem Reporter is providing free access to its content related to the coronavirus as a community service. Subscriptions help support this.
The Salem-Keizer School Board will hold a virtual meeting Monday afternoon to hear updates on the district’s closure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Board members will vote on two items related to the pandemic. The first would suspend an existing board policy requiring a majority of school board members to be present in person for business meetings.
The second item up for vote would allow the district to suspend its regular competitive bidding requirements when acquiring items to fulfill Governor Kate Brown’s executive order relating to school closures.
That order requires public school districts to supply meals, supplemental learning materials, childcare for health workers and first responders and limited other services while schools are closed. District administrators are asking the board to waive the regular competitive bidding process because “this process may result in unacceptable multi-week delays in procuring necessary goods and services.”
The meeting will stream live on YouTube starting at 4 p.m. Monday, March 30.
Members of the public can submit a comment to the board using an online form before the meeting. The board will also test a call-in system for public comment which may be used at future virtual meetings.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander at [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
