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PHOTOS: In Salem, superintendent runs school district from an empty office

Salem-Keizer superintendent Christy Perry has a check-in video call with Schirle Elementary special education teacher Annie Hatzenbihler on Tuesday, April 14. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

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Across Salem, school playgrounds are quiet, yellow buses are parked in lots and there are no 3 p.m. traffic jams as parents line up to pick up their kids from another day of learning to read.

Even the Salem-Keizer school district offices are nearly empty. The normally bustling two-story office building on Northeast Lancaster Drive Northeast, with Superintendent Christy Perry among the few going into the office.

On Tuesday, Perry led a meeting of her cabinet and checked in with other employees over the phone before signing on for a school board meeting, held over video.

“I don’t have a good sense of when we can loosen up any restrictions around access to buildings and any sort of small gatherings,” she told the school board.

-Rachel Alexander

Salem-Keizer superintendent Christy Perry is seen in the reflection of a mirror in her office while a new system of internet connections and wires line the floor. The connections facilitate the numerous video conferences and public addresses Perry now uses to do her job. Tuesday, April 14. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

Salem-Keizer superintendent Christy Perry stands for the pledge of allegiance at the beginning of a school board meeting on Tuesday, April 14. The meeting was live streamed to allow the public to join. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

Salem-Keizer superintendent Christy Perry and communications director Lillian Govus laugh while choosing a background for the video chat with the school district leadership team on Tuesday, April 14. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

Salem-Keizer superintendent Christy Perry talks during a virtual school board meeting on Tuesday, April 14. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

Salem-Keizer superintendent Christy Perry talks with communications director Lillian Govus while setting up a video conference on Tuesday, April 14. It has largely been the two of them alone together in the office for the last month, while other staff members work from home. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

Salem-Keizer superintendent Christy Perry takes a phone call prior to the virtual school board meeting on Tuesday, April 14. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

Salem-Keizer superintendent Christy Perry uses her laptop during a virtual school board meeting on Tuesday, April 14. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

Salem-Keizer superintendent Christy Perry and communications director Lillian Govus participate in a video chat with the school district leadership team using Microsoft Teams software. In the past two weeks, the school district has placed more than 131,000 calls over 4,400 hours. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

Salem-Keizer superintendent Christy Perry chats with her secretary Alice Struckmeier, who now works from home, on Tuesday, April 14. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

Salem-Keizer superintendent Christy Perry participates in a video chat with the school district leadership team on Tuesday, April 14. In the past two weeks, the school district has placed more than 131,000 calls over 4400 hours. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

Salem-Keizer superintendent Christy Perry talks with communications director Lillian Govus in Govus’ office on Tuesday, April 14. It has largely been the two of them in the office for the last month, as the rest of the staff now works from home. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

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