August 2, 2021 3:40 a.m. 

On Friday, Superintendent Jared Cordon of Roseburg Public Schools released a statement regarding Governor Kate Brown’s announcement that masks would be required for students and adults in the state’s schools for the 2021-22 school year.

Cordon said “This statement is a shift in previous guidance from the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority”. He said it lacks “…critical details on not only the mask mandate itself, but on a host of items such as cohorting, distancing, cleaning, potential quarantining, and other health and safety issues”.

Cordon said the district’s focus “…continues to be ensuring a safe, full-time return to school for our kids and staff this fall”. Cordon said he will continue to advocate for the district’s children and the community in his upcoming conversations with ODE, OHA and the Governor’s office. He said he looks forward to sharing more information as it becomes available.