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STATE MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, June 3, 2020 A7 ‘Back to school’ still a big question mark in Oregon, ODF declares but answers for K-12 could come by June 8 By Gary A. Warner For the Oregon Capital Bureau Abnormal is the new nor- mal for thousands of students from kindergarten to Ph.D. pro- grams in Oregon during the COVID-19 crisis, lawmakers were told Friday. “We are learning to fly the plane as we build it,” said Jenni- fer Scurlock, an English teacher at Churchill High School in Eugene. Scurlock was among those who appeared online during a virtual hearing of the House Interim Committee on Educa- tion on Friday. The panel heard testimony from administra- tors, instructors and students across the spectrum of educa- tion levels. State officials said they expected to have an announce- ment by the week of June 8 on when and how K-12 public schools will open. Public uni- versities and colleges are still deciding whether some, none or all classes will return to cam- pus in the fall. All levels of education face major funding shortfalls with revenues plummeting due to closed businesses and wide- spread unemployment during the crisis. “We’re looking at signifi- cant budget cuts to education,” said Rep. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, a member of the committee. The COVID-19 pandemic forced most schools and col- leges to shut classrooms and move teaching online. The dif- ficulties of setting up an online system have been daunting. Bulletin file photo School buses at the Bend-La Pine School District transporta- tion yard in Bend. Students without a computer or online access were faced with trying to keep up. Ben Cannon, executive director of the Higher Education Coordinating Committee, laid out a bleak financial picture for the committee. Gov. Kate Brown initially issued an order ending most in-person classes on March 19, with a target reopening date of April 28. On April 17, the order was extended through June 13, effectively through the end of the spring semesters for colleges and universities. What fall will look like: unknown for now. The public universities saw their numbers hold steady between winter and spring. Community colleges saw an 18% drop in enrollment. The biggest fall-off was in the career technical education programs, which lost 27% of their students. Universities rely on different revenue sources than commu- nity colleges. The four-year universities get 35% of their funding from tuition and fees. “Auxiliary” income, which includes dormitory fees, accounts for another 18%. State funding accounts for 17%. They receive no funds from property taxes. Community colleges get 35% from state funding, 21% from property taxes and 19% from tuition and fees. While the federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund sent $134 million to Ore- gon and the Governor’s Emer- gency Education Relief Fund allocated another $32.5 million, the near future is looking cloudy to dark. Cannon said the “best case” is colleges and universities are able to resume in-person activ- ities this summer or fall, with modest modifications to phys- ical layouts, group sizes and other protocols. The “worst case” is colleges and universities are required to operate remotely throughout all of 2020-21. The California State Univer- sity system, the nation’s largest, has already announced nearly all classes this fall will be online. Cannon said the governor and the Oregon Health Author- ity would weigh the alternatives. No announcement is scheduled. Regardless of which method is used, Cannon underscored that keeping the universities and colleges capable of returning at full strength after the pandemic is over was crucial to the state’s future. “Postsecondary educa- tion and training are central to Oregon’s return to strength and prosperity,” Cannon said. “Affordability and access to postsecondary education and training require investments of the state funding.” During the discussion of K-12 schools, the key question on most minds was asked by Rep. Kim Wallan, R-Medford. “What is going to happen in the fall?” she asked. “We are deep into plan- ning for the next school year,” testified Colt Gill, director of the Oregon Department of Education. State education officials have held 18 video meetings with 3,000 participants the past two weeks. Teachers, school boards, parents, school work- ers and others were able to talk about the essential functions needed for schools to move for- ward in the fall. The state is also confer- ring with officials in California, Washington and British Colum- bia to keep informed on each other’s plans. Gill said he expected that some guidance would be put out the week of June 8 as to what school will look like this fall. “Our hope is we can get back to where it is happening in the classroom,” he said. The answer may be different for some of the 197 school dis- tricts in Oregon. The right mix of in-class and online teaching depends on public health, school size and other factors. “Some parts of the state may be a hybrid,” Gill said. Some rural parts of the state may see classroom experiences close to what they looked like prior to COVID-19. But even there, “normal” will have a dif- ferent look because of minimum physical spacing requirements. Because of the revenue hit the entire state budget is taking, public schools look to be headed toward a $500 million deficit. “That equivalent to 11 school days or 5,400 teachers,” Gill said. Rep. Cheri Helt, R-Bend, a member of the panel, said after the hearing that she hoped the governor would soon call the Legislature into a special session to fill in the budget gaps. First up would be using the $1.6 billion “Rainy Day Fund,” a state account built up over the years in case of an emergency. “If this isn’t a rainy day, I don’t know what is,” she said. While there are many cru- cial and conflicting budget needs, Helt said the state’s pub- lic schools budget should be made whole in any negotiations. “We have to make sure we are staffed-up enough to provide the rigor and relevant education students missed during the pan- demic,” she said. State solicitor: Legislature never intended to limit emergency powers Gov. Brown used to order COVID-19 closures By Jayson Jacoby EO Media Group Oregon’s solicitor general argued in a brief to the state Supreme Court that the Leg- islature did not intend to limit the duration of an emergency declared by the governor. Solicitor General Benjamin Gutman asked the state’s high- est court to order Baker County Circuit Court Judge Matt Shirt- cliff to vacate his May 18 deci- sion granting a preliminary injunction to a group of plain- tiffs, led by Elkhorn Baptist Church in Baker City, who sued Gov. Kate Brown on May 6 claiming she exceeded her legal authority in issuing exec- utive orders during the corona- virus pandemic. That preliminary injunction, which the state Supreme Court temporarily stayed later on the same day Shirtcliff granted it, would “upend the Governor’s phased, data-driven process of reopening the state, threatening to squander the sacrifices that Oregonians have already made to keep one another safe,” Gut- man wrote in his 42-page brief. “This is not a close case,” he wrote. “No reasonable jurist could conclude that a prelimi- nary injunction is warranted in these circumstances.” Gutman noted that most Oregon counties, including Baker County, are in phase one of the state’s reopening plan, which relaxed some of the restrictions included in the gov- ernor’s executive orders. Gutman submitted the brief on Thursday, as requested by the Supreme Court. Attorneys for the plaintiffs and a group of intervenors, including Grant County Sher- iff Glenn Palmer and Grant County Commissioner Sam Palmer, have until Tuesday to submit briefs defending Shirt- cliff’s decision. At issue is the preliminary injunction the judge granted. It temporarily prohibited the state from enforcing restrictions in Brown’s executive orders, including limits on the number of people in public gatherings, one of the main objections the plaintiffs including 10 churches have cited. But the Oregon Supreme Court later on May 18 issued a stay that temporarily stopped the preliminary injunction from taking effect. That remains the case, and the governor’s executive orders continue to be in effect. Even if the Supreme Court rules in the governor’s favor and vacates Shirtcliff’s pre- liminary injunction, the law- suit itself would continue, pos- sibly leading to a trial in Baker County Circuit Court. The legal debate over the preliminary injunction centers on two state laws — Oregon Revised Statutes chapters 401 and 433. Chapter 401, the law the governor cited in her ini- tial emergency declaration on March 8, does not have any time limits on an emergency. 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The fire sea- son declaration is intended to reduce human fire starts by restricting some activi- ties related to forest opera- tions and open burning. “When the district enters fire season it high- lights the change of wild- land fuel and weather pat- terns,” said Rob Pentzer, acting district forester. “It is an indicator to our land- owners, operators and the public that we are trending toward warm, dry weather and we need to change our actions to reduce any potential starts and pre- vent fires when we can.” The fire season dec- laration restricts the use of tracer ammunition and exploding targets within the district, as well as the use of blasting materials. Smoking while working or traveling through forest operations is also prohib- ited. Luminaries (sky lan- terns) are always prohib- ited in Oregon. All open burning within the Central Oregon Dis- trict Protection Bound- ary requires a permit during fire season. Land- owners who burned ear- lier this spring should check their piles to ensure there is no heat or flames as recent warm tempera- tures can rekindle these burns if any fire remains. When checking piles use a shovel to stir the ashes and feel below the sur- face for heat. Use water and dirt to extinguish any remaining heat. Check for local restrictions regard- ing open burning, as some local governments and fire departments have imple- mented additional burn bans. These restrictions do not apply to campfires, but following safe burning practices will decrease the risk of fire spread. Always make sure a campfire is dead out before leaving the area and never leave a fire unattended. Stewardship for- esters from local units within Central Ore- gon District can provide additional guidance as needed. ODF’s Central Ore- gon District continues to serve landowners and the public as an essential ser- vice for Oregonians. Call or email to talk with staff or schedule an appoint- ment. 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Gutman argues in the brief that both the balance of harms and the public interest “over- whelmingly weigh against an injunction disrupting the state’s ongoing effort to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.” “The threat to the public health caused by suddenly lift- ing the executive orders over- whelms any harm that plain- tiffs and intervenors will suffer from following those orders for now,” Gutman writes. Although the issue of the preliminary injunction doesn’t directly involve the plaintiffs’ freedom of religion under the Oregon Constitution, the law- suit does mention both the state and federal constitutional guar- antees of religious freedom. In his brief, Gutman con- tends that the governor’s exec- utive orders do not violate the plaintiffs’ rights because the orders “treat faith-based gath- erings the same as non-faith- based gatherings that implicate the same public-health con- cerns. They are neutral laws of general applicability that do not target religion for unfavorable treatment. Faith-based gath- erings, just as much as non- faith-based gatherings, pose a high risk of spreading the virus that causes COVID-19, and all those gatherings need to observe reasonable social dis- tancing measures to slow the pandemic.” to limit the governor’s author- ity specifically during public health emergencies, then law- makers likely would have also amended chapter 401 so that diseases would no longer qual- ify as disasters under that law. But the Legislature didn’t do so — chapter 401, which the governor invoked in her initial disaster declaration, lists “dis- ease” as one reason for such a declaration. Gutman also notes that “chapter 433 repeatedly cross-references chapter 401, underscoring that the statutes were meant to harmonize rather than conflict.” Gutman goes on to cite statements by legislators in 2003 when they were consid- ering chapter 433. The record shows, Gutman argues, that lawmakers did not intend chap- ter 433 to limit the governor’s powers under chapter 401. Gutman includes in his brief a quote from the state’s public health officer who stated that an argument could be made that chapter 401, which dates to 1949, gives the governor the authority to take all the actions listed in chapter 433, and more. Gutman also argues that the 28-day time limit in chap- ter 433 applies only to the gov- ernor’s proclamation of a pub- lic health emergency, but not on the actions, such as restricting businesses and the movement of residents, that the governor is authorized to take under that law. Gutman contends that Shirt- cliff should not have granted the preliminary injunction Tax Problems: RESOLVED Prepare for unexpected power outages with a Generac home standby generator FREE The Legislature has not convened since the pandemic started. Chapter 433 deals spe- cifically with public health emergencies, and Brown has invoked the law in several of the executive orders she issued following the initial emergency declaration. Chapter 433 limits the dura- tion of a public health emer- gency to 28 days. The plaintiffs contend — and Shirtcliff agreed in his deci- sion granting the preliminary injunction — that by invoking chapter 433, Brown’s executive orders are subject to the 28-day limit. But Gutman, in his brief to the state Supreme Court, argues that Shirtcliff “erred in conclud- ing that those statutes — ORS chapters 401 and 433 — con- flict with one another, and that the expiration provisions of chapter 433 effectively limit the duration of a state of emer- gency declared under chapter 401.” Gutman cites a clause in chapter 433 that states that nothing in that chapter “limits the authority of the Governor to declare a state of emergency” under chapter 401. 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