ODE to issue mask guidelines this week
By Terry Murry on Monday, August 2nd, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – Last week, Gov. Kate Brown ordered the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Department of Education to require masks for students and staff in K-12 public schools. This week, citizens find out what that will mean.
“What always happens is, the governor makes a declaration and then assigns Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Department of Education to implement it,” InterMountain Education Service District Superintendent Mark Mulvihill said.
Mulvihill said that while he’s waiting for the guidance from the state, there is one thing that’s obvious. The state is back in the business of overseeing schools instead of the local districts.
“The governor’s back in the game of making decisions because of the spread,” he said. “I was surprised that it was statewide because we have areas that don’t have a large amount of spread and they were moving forward with local control.”
