April 15, 2021
Hey Coos Bay Community,
These beautiful sunny days are a reminder of what a great place we live in. With the changing of the seasons, I wanted to communicate to everyone some details of youth sports and our facilities.
One thing is for sure, this has been a crazy year. Our own school sports have had their seasons changed by the OSAA during this Pandemic. Due to these changes, our school sports have had to participate and use our facilities during times they ordinarily would not. This, in turn, has caused some community youth sports programs to be moved around in our facilities to provide equitable space wherever we can. I realize this has disrupted some programs, but our district programs have priority when it comes to using district facilities. We schedule our facility use according to our School Board Policy and prioritize use accordingly. Again, this year has been unusual as our own programs have had schedules changed during the year to ensure that our students have the opportunity to participate safely in their chosen sports. Right now we are in what we would call a “typical” spring sports season which includes baseball, softball, golf, tennis, along with track and field. Local community youth programs in these sports are considered to be “in season” at this time and after our school programs, they have priority for facility use. If there are any facility openings after scheduling all of those, we equitably schedule the “out of season” activities. Our district facilities department schedules all facility use and has worked hard to make sure we give equitable space to all programs according to the district policy.
The other reminder I want to make clear is around the public health safety protocols for using or being a spectator at our facilities. All school district facilities are required to follow the Oregon Health Authority guidelines. When you or your child are on district property, at any time, you are required to wear a mask and maintain social distancing. The kids, 5 years and older, are required to wear a mask at all times, which includes while participating in activities. These protocols are required of our district by the Oregon Health Authority. If we allow anyone at our facilities to not follow these protocols, we could have our facilities shut down by Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This would take away the opportunity for kids in our community to participate in much needed activities. I am asking everyone to work together to help keep our facilities open for the sake of our kids. Please follow the Oregon Health Authority public safety protocols while on our district property.
As I said before, we live in a great community and our district is proud to be able to offer facilities for outside organizations to use for the benefit of our kids and our adults. Thank you for your cooperation as we navigate through this difficult year. I sincerely hope that next year brings a sense of normalcy to all of us.
Bryan Trendell
Coos Bay Public Schools
Superintendent