GRANT COUNTY — Summer break is over and that means kids in Grant County are headed back to school. A new year brings new faces as many students around the county return to classes with new superintendents, principals and athletic directors for the 2022-23 school year.

All schools in the county save those in the Grant School District started on Monday, Aug. 22. Schools in the Grant School District begin classes on Monday, Aug. 29.

New administrative hires throughout the county include Louis Dix, who takes over as the superintendent of Grant School District.

Karen Shelton is now the principal at Grant Union High School after serving as the school’s vice principal last school year. Grant School District also has a new student services director in Shannon Northway.

Other personnel changes in the Grant School District include Andy Lusco, who is now the assistant principal and athletic director at Grant Union High School.

Dayville made one new administrative hire for the 2022-23 school year with new superintendent Davida Irving.

Prairie City also has a single new administrative hire as Rhonda McCumber left the Grant School District to take over as the elementary principal in Prairie City.

While all Grant County schools are holding in-person classes, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic brings questions of what schools have planned in the event cases and hospitalizations spike again as they did in the beginning and intermediary portions of the pandemic. Cases are up, but hospitalizations and severe sickness from the disease remain relatively low.

Prairie City Superintendent Casey Hallgarth said COVID contingency plans can be viewed on the school’s website at www.pcsd4.com.

Dayville Superintendent Davida Irving said the school would be looking to the Oregon Department of Education and Oregon Health Authority for COVID guidelines during the 2022-23 academic year.

Grant School District Superintendent Louis Dix said the district didn’t have plans in place at the start of the week but that COVID contingency plans would be discussed at a meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 23.

Along with the administrative hires, schools throughout the county hired a number of new teachers for the 2022-23 academic year.

Grant School District has the largest number of students enrolled in the county at 465. Prairie City has the second-largest enrollment with 252 students enrolled.

Both Monument and Dayville have just under 60 students apiece, with Monument having 57 enrolled students and Dayville having 59. Efforts to reach Long Creek schools for enrollment numbers before press time were unsuccessful.