It is with deep regret that due to ongoing public safety concerns within our community, the Salem-Keizer School Board meeting for August 24 is canceled. This was to have been an opportunity for the board to hear from staff and students about the amazing partnership between our school district and Chemeketa Community College, including the redesign of our alternative education program. Our goal was to interact with students and staff while seeing the new agriculture complex at Chemeketa. We will reschedule at a time we can accomplish this in person. To the students and staff who prepared for this meeting and to our partners at Chemeketa, we apologize.

We are seeing a continual call in our community to create disruption to our board and our schools with divisiveness that has no place in the lives of our students. At our last board meeting, we witnessed disrespect, racial and transphobic comments, and a disregard for health and safety protocols. We believe our communities of Salem and Keizer are better than this, and board leadership does not want any person to be in an environment where they will not feel safe or welcome.

As a board, we remain highly committed to our goal of getting our students back to school for five days a week of in-person instruction. Getting students in school physically and having them remain in school is our single focus.

Please join us as a community in our commitment to get our students back in school, and support our healthcare workers who are working around the clock taking care of our critically ill community members.

Be safe, mask up, get vaccinated and support the safe return of our students to school!