How a small rural school district tangled with Oregon officials, netting huge fine

ADRIAN – On the first day of school in August, the Adrian school superintendent stopped himself from going in and headed back home.

“I forgot a mask,” then-Superintendent Kevin Purnell wrote to his staff in a welcoming note. “A little ironic.”

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Now, with a superintendent fired and international media attention faded, the Adrian School District is trying to move past the turmoil of those opening days of school.

But first, it faces the largest fine imposed to date on an Oregon school system for disobeying the state’s mask mandate. State officials disclosed last week that they propose to fine the Adrian system $10,500 for its “willful” violation of the mandate.

School district officials promptly appealed the citation from Oregon OSHA. But the contest will be more over the size of the fine than the findings the Adrian system wasn’t heeding mask protocols.

Read more: https://www.salemreporter.com/posts/5445/how-a-small-rural-school-district-tangled-with-oregon-officials-netting-huge-fine