MILTON-FREEWATER — Schools in Milton-Freewater and the Athena-Weston School District will continue with distance learning for now, officials said.

Whether Oregon schools can move to a hybrid schedule depends solely on the COVID-19 statistics in a district’s county. This is mandated by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, whereas similar guidelines by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee are merely recommendations.

Some Washington counties, such as Walla Walla, have been breaking statistics down by city so districts can look at these numbers instead of county numbers. Otherwise, tiny areas — such as Prescott — could be stopped from reopening by the number of coronavirus cases in Walla Walla.

In Oregon, for a district to reopen, a county must have just 10 COVID-19 cases or fewer per 100,000 residents for a seven-day period and must meet this standard three weeks in a row. The positive test percentage rate also has to be below 5%.

Schools can return kindergarten through third-grade students, however, if the county has fewer than 30 coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents for a seven-day period. This matrix also needs to be met three weeks in a row.

The latest numbers provided by the Oregon Health Authority show Umatilla County at 108 cases per 100,000 residents. Milton-Freewater Superintendent Aaron Duff is frustrated that Oregon districts can’t use city numbers like some Washington schools are doing.

“Last week, we had three cases in the (Milton-Freewater) ZIP code,” Duff said. “Oregon, just like Washington, is very different when you go around the state. So in Umatilla County, I can drive for an hour and a half, and still be in Umatilla County. We’re spread out. Milton-Freewater is more removed from the rest of the county than most others.”

Duff questioned the logic of lumping the entire county together.

“Is what’s happening in Hermiston a pre-teller for what’s happening here? I don’t see that,” he said. “We have very different communities. There is different industry. That’s a little of the frustration that (spread out) counties are having. I don’t know that looking at it countywide is accurate.”

Under Brown’s current orders, schools can provide on-site learning in groups of no larger then 10. Both the Milton-Freewater and Athena-Weston districts have done that.

Duff said his district started bringing some small groups to school on Oct. 19.

“We’ll add a couple more student groups here and there over the next couple of weeks,” Duff said. “There’s a two-hour limit. Each building can’t have more than 250 students a week. It’s very limited and is meant for kids who really can’t access any of their education.”

Duff said serving these students in-person is going to be really important.

“Some kids are having some success with distance education, but some students definitely are not,” he said.

Athena-Weston Superintendent Laure Quaresma said her district is also making use of the Limited in-Person Instruction allowance.

“Our two-hour blocks are geared for small group instruction and additional support,” she said. “Some high school students are invited in for specific (career and technical education) courses, and our ag students are meeting at the land lab.

“Teachers are thrilled to have kids on-site and are hopeful for more time on-site with kids.”