WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Fire districts will make millions in budget cuts
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Fire districts and cities in the Mid-Willamette Val-
ley are making budget cuts, including deciding on
layoffs and furloughs, following voters' rejection of op-
erating levy increases in the May election.
The levy failure for Marion County Fire District 1
means a $2.4 million reduction in the department’s
operating budget, including $1 million in budget cuts
for the upcoming fiscal year that will take the form of
laying off three people and other cuts in service.
Stayton won’t have to make cuts yet for its city oper-
ating levy that helps fund Stayton Memorial Pool,
Stayton Library and parks in the city as it has a year
left on its existing levy, but is considering putting an-
other levy on the November ballot.
The Stayton Rural Fire District won’t have to make
cuts, but it will have to continue to rely on a dwindling
pool of 50 volunteers, down from 60 a decade ago.
The measures looked like sure things when they
were filed, but when the pandemic hit, it was too late to
pull them from the ballot or modify them. And the gen-
eral consensus is that taxpayers were uncertain of the
future due to economic uncertainty decided against
the increases.
“It’s just bad timing,” Stayton Rural Fire District
Chief Jack Carriger said.
Stayton City Manager Keith Campbell agreed the
timing was bad.
“I think we had internal discussions with the COVID
issue and the uncertainty people had and people los-
ing their jobs, it’s a challenging time to go out and say
hey, we need support on resources,” Campbell said.
Marion County Fire District 1, which serves 55,000
See BUDGET, Page 2A
The Fire station located right next to the Chemeketa
Community College Regional Training Center in
Brooks on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Marion County
Commissioners are looking at creating a special
district for water in the unincorporated community
of Brooks. MICHAELA ROMÁN / STATESMAN JOURNAL
Audit:
Inconsistent
support for
students with
disabilities
Claire Withycombe
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
A family wearing masks enters JC Penney as an unmasked group stands outside in Salem on Monday,
June 22. BRIAN HAYES / STATESMAN JOURNAL
Face masks
now mandatory
They are now required for
shopping, dining, other
activities in public spaces locally
Emily Teel and Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Wearing a face mask is mandatory for anyone en-
tering an indoor business in Marion or Polk County.
Businesses in Marion, Polk, Clackamas, Hood Riv-
er, Lincoln, Multnomah and Washington Counties
must require customers or patrons to wear a face cov-
ering – either a mask or a face shield – while inside
under reopening guidelines by Gov. Kate Brown.
Face coverings have been recommended by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since
April. In an effort to slow transmission of the virus,
the state is requiring them for businesses in counties
where the number of confirmed or suspected cases
has been high.
Businesses that must follow the guidelines include
grocery stores, gyms, pharmacies, public transporta-
tion providers, restaurants and bars, retail stores in-
cluding malls, ride sharing services or personal ser-
vice providers such as barbers and tattoo parlors.
In addition, businesses in Marion and Polk also
must require face coverings at swimming pools and
spas, indoor entertainment venues like theaters and
at indoor recreation sporting venues.
Exemptions are those under age 12, with medical
conditions that make it hard to breathe while wearing
a covering and those with a disability that prevents
them from wearing one.
See MASKS, Page 4A
Plan for isolation hotel riles city
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Marion County’s plan to rent an 81-room hotel in
Woodburn and use it as a short-term isolation facility
for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 has
raised concerns in the hard-hit community.
According to the city, the county plans to rent the
Super 8 on Evergreen Road for those who have no oth-
er place to self-isolate, such as released inmates,
farmworkers and homeless people.
The city wasn’t informed ahead of time.
“Good government goes through a process for any-
thing we do, especially in small towns,” Woodburn
City Councilor Eric Morris said. “To me, it feels much
more like, we’re telling you this rather than can we
come into your community and set up this isolation
facility.
“That tunes up people’s fears.”
As of June 17, the 97071 ZIP code, which includes
Woodburn, had 238 cases, the highest incidence in
Marion County.
As a condition of Marion County moving into
phase 2 of reopening on June 19, the county was re-
quired to find a facility for COVID-19 positive patients
with mild symptoms who don’t have anywhere to iso-
late.
As part of the county’s plan, there will be an onsite
nurse, a project manager and security personnel. Res-
See HOTEL, Page 3A
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Oregon kids with disabilities aren't consistently
getting access to services and supports they need at
school, state auditors say.
Federal law requires the state to provide public
education to the thousands of Oregon students who
have disabilities. Auditors with the Secretary of
State's Office say the state's education department
should improve how it coordinates and monitors
those services.
"Children with disabilities who do not receive ade-
quate services may have difficulties realizing their
educational and life potential," auditors wrote.
Auditors recommended that the state take specific
steps to improve special education services for both
school age and very young children and to hire and
retain special education staff.
Schools lack enough well-trained special educa-
tion teachers and classroom assistants, said Joel
Greenberg, a staff attorney for Disability Rights
Oregon.
And even when teachers are well trained, their ca-
seloads are often so high that they cannot provide
enough individual attention to kids who need it,
Greenberg said.
Greenberg also said the state doesn't adequately
keep track of when there might be broader problems
in a district.
"The state does not provide good expert support
for districts that are struggling," Greenberg said. "And
one of the reasons is, they don't monitor, in a useful
enough way, to recognize when there are systemic
problems in a particular district."
Auditors also recommended specific measures to
help determine whether kids from historically under-
served races or ethnicities are under- or over-identi-
fied for early intervention services and to improve
data sharing in the K-12 system.
School funding still in question
Last year, lawmakers passed major legislation to
boost money for schools. Even so, that $1 billion an-
nual cash infusion may not be enough to fully fund
special education in the state, auditors said.
And the COVID-19 pandemic and its gut-punch to
the economy could mean far less money available for
schools.
The director of the Oregon Education Department,
Colt Gill, said in a response to the audit that he ex-
pects that public money for schools will drop sharply,
which could present barriers to implementing some
of the audit recommendations.
Gill agreed or partially agreed with most of audi-
tors' recommendations, but disagreed on some, such
as having the department identify districts that
struggle most to hire and retain special education
staff and specialists.
Gill said that hiring and retaining staff is "firmly
within local authority," and that ranking districts'
challenges to hire and keep staff is "ill advised."
About 78,000 K-12 students experienced disabil-
ities in the 2017-18 school year, or about 13.8% of Ore-
gon students. In that same school year, about 12,000
Oregon infants, toddlers and preschoolers received
special education services.
The share of kids who get adequate services in
early childhood declines sharply when analyzed by
need, auditors said.
Just 0.7% of high-needs infants, toddlers and pre-
schoolers got an adequate level of support services
from 2018 to 2019, while 6% of those children with
moderate needs had their needs met, the report
found. About 62% of low-needs young children, by
contrast, got adequate services.
What the agency considers "adequate" hinges on
the amount of time that specialists spend with young
children, auditors said.
See AUDIT, Page 2A