Several House and Senate Republicans have sent a letter to Oregon Governor Kate Brown, requesting that she "take decisive action and reopen Oregon schools for full in-person instruction immediately."

The letter begins, "As House and Senate Republicans, we are deeply concerned about the detrimental impacts ongoing school closures are having on Oregon students. We respectfully request that you utilize the full authority of the Office of the Governor and intervene immediately to reopen schools to full in-person instruction."

As the governor has tried to steer between the demands of teachers' unions, upset parents and students, increasingly damaged by the disruption of school closures, pressure has been mounting for schools to re-open. In a move that many saw as a policy punt, the governor issued guidelines that allowed schools to partially self-determine their own opening schedule.

The letter references the nearly half-billion dollar federal grant, directed at opening schools, "The state was recently allocated $499 million from the federal government, much of which was intended to get children back into the classroom. We find no reason that this funding windfall is not sufficient to reopen schools, especially when an ever-increasing body of evidence supports that it is safe -- even without the vaccination of teachers."

In a sad note, the letter says that "Students are facing challenges associated with mental health, peer suicides, and social isolation while not at school. Our kids need to be back in the classroom to have the necessary support. Last year, we saw nearly a 40% increase in calls to suicide hotlines among youth. A recent survey shows that over half of 11-17-year-olds reported having suicidal thoughts regularly.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-03-04 19:58:44

Last Update: 2021-03-04 20:20:52