Students are back in class in Alsea after the district was closed for a week due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
The weeklong shutdown came just as the district implemented its new mask-optional policy. As the policy took effect, Alsea superintendent Marc Thielman announced the closure due to a surge in cases that left the district without enough staff to operate.
The new policy goes against statewide requirements from Oregon Governor Kate Brown and the Oregon Department of Education. That agency has already announced that the district will forfeit some federal emergency funds as a result.
Meanwhile, the union representing Alsea teachers wrote a letter to the school board calling the change in mask policy a, quote, “affront to our professionalism.” The union said the policy disregards the health and safety of the entire community.