REDMOND, Ore. (AP) - Some Central Oregon schools that were offering in-person instruction this week canceled those plans for the rest of the year, as more staffers and students quarantined because of exposure to the coronavirus.
Redmond school officials in Deschutes County halted classroom learning after 91 students and staffers were told to isolate, The Bulletin reported. In neighboring Crook County, School Superintendent Sara Johnson sent a letter Monday, telling parents the rural district of about 3,000 students would resume comprehensive distance learning next week through at least Jan. 4.
“The impact of quarantines due to potential exposures has severely impacted our staffing levels,” the letter reads.
Some 22 Crook County staff and 12 students have been told to quarantine, with at least three staffers testing positive so far for the virus, district spokesman Jason Carr told Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Some residents are trying to find ways around the return to distance learning. When Crook County Judge Seth Crawford heard about the staffing issue, he offered to become a substitute teacher, then began recruiting others via social media.
Crawford told OPB he ran the wording by the superintendent before posting. The district’s director of human resources, Sean Corrigan, said about 25 have people called his office for more information.
Carr, the district spokesman, cautioned that substitute teachers need to have a bachelor’s degree and go through a process before they can teach. The No. 1 barrier, Carr said, is “the COVID environment and the regulations at the state level.”
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