Eastern Oregon school district fined $11K over COVID violations
ADRIAN, Ore. (AP) — An Eastern Oregon school district has been fined $11,000 for failing to uphold the state indoor mask mandate and other violations.
The current state mandate requires students to wear masks indoors to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The Adrian School District, near the Idaho border, is a small district that includes an elementary and high school with about 300 students total.
Aaron Corvin with Oregon OSHA told KGW-TV an inspection was done in response to three complaints about a lack of mask usage.
OSHA inspectors said they found two COVID-19 violations and two unrelated violations.
Two of those violations were marked as “serious” at $420 each. Another citation is defined as “other than serious” at $100 and a “willful violation” related to mask-wearing garnered the bulk of the fine at $10,500.
“It certainly is the largest penalty we’ve issued over COVID requirements to a school district,” Corvin said.
In August, Adrian School District superintendent Kevin Purnell was fired after the school board wanted him to defy the governor’s mask mandate but he wouldn’t. A new superintendent started this week.
The school district’s website does include a safe return to school plan saying students and staff are required to wear face coverings. School officials said they filed an appeal and requested a hearing for three of the four violations, including the one for $10,500.
