The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

In conformance to the Thursday, March 12 mandate from Governor Kate Brown, Sisters schools are now closed. Because the mandated closure period overlaps with Sisters’ two-week spring break, schools will be shuttered until April 6.

Superintendent Curt Scholl told The Nugget that there will be no school activities on campuses, including practices for spring sports, at least through March 31.

The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) announced Friday morning that it has suspended interscholastic practices and contests for sports and activities for all member schools effective Friday, March 13 through March 31.

“During this suspension we will evaluate this evolving public health situation with the Oregon Health Authority, the Oregon Department of Education, the OSAA Executive Board, the OSAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee and member school administrators from throughout the state to determine when, or if, to resume the spring season,” OSAA reported.

Sisters Park & Recreation District is poised to follow suit.

In an email message, SPRD stated that, “SPRD has a policy of following Sisters School District decisions regarding program cancellations and closures. We are working closely with them regarding athletic activities, and await clarification from the state on athletic practices and competitions.”

The school closure mandate comes on the heels of Brown’s decision to ban public gatherings of more than 250 people for four weeks.

As of Friday morning, March 13, Deschutes County still has reported one case of COVID-19. There were, as of the same time, 24 cases statewide.

Scholl told The Nugget that the school board would inquire as to what impacts the mandated closure will have on the school calendar, which requires a certain number of instructional days.

He also acknowledged that the closure will be tough on some families, though the overlap with the planned spring break may mitigate that impact, while also expanding the effect of keeping students from gathering together.

“Although we don’t like it and know it has a lot of negative impacts on people… from the safety standpoint, this lined up pretty well,” he said.

The public health response to the COVID-19 virus continues to evolve on a daily basis and information will be provided or modified as circumstances on the ground change.