The Salem-Keizer School Board meets virtually for a work session on July 28, 2020 (Screenshot)
Salem-Keizer School Board directors will hear the latest district plans for all-remote fall classes in a work session and meeting Tuesday evening, though they won’t vote on the plans.
District administrators will first update the board on planning for fall in a 5 p.m. work session. The board will then reconvene at 6 p.m. for a business meeting.
Board members are scheduled to vote on an agreement to create a Mid-Willamette Valley Homeless Alliance with other government agencies in Marion and Polk counties. The alliance can apply for state and federal funding to address homelessness and is meant to better coordinate efforts and programs between agencies and government entities in the region.
The board will hear a report on the district’s current blueprint for fall operations, which calls for all schools to hold classes remotely through at least Nov. 16. Neither Marion nor Polk county is currently meeting the health guidelines Gov. Kate Brown established July 28 for reopening school in-person.
Board members don’t have to vote on the plan under guidelines from the Oregon Department of Education, but district administrators must submit the plan to the board and post it publicly. Salem-Keizer’s plan is available here.
Current plans contain few details on how classes would be held in-person if the district is able to resume operations in November. Assistant superintendent Kraig Sproles said administrators opted not to spend hours devising detailed plans for issues like school bus transportation or classroom layout because state guidelines are likely to shift again before November.
Board members will also vote on renewing the district’s contract for legal services, hear a report on 2020 graduation and hear public comment.
Meeting details: Virtual work session at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, and business session at 6 p.m. Members of the public can submit email or video testimony ahead of the 6 p.m. meeting or sign up to call into the meeting and comment live using this form. Comments close at 4:15 p.m. Aug. 11. The meeting will be broadcast live on YouTube in English and Spanish and in English CCTV channel 21.
School board members: Satya Chandragiri, Danielle Bethell, Marty Heyen, Jesse Lippold, Sheronne Blasi, Kathy Goss, Paul Kyllo
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Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [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.
