up here. >> yes. well, thank you for having me, erin. the first thing i would like to do is, of course, is thank our educators currently in our schools. you know, the pandemic has not been easy on any of our educators and, you know, they have been dedicated and committed to providing the supportive and safe-learning environments that we -- we emphasize in oregon because this is all about our students, our kids. i also want to mention that these are frontline workers. >> yep. >> and therefore, they -- they put up with a lot of the challenges during this pandemic. and what we've noticed in oregon is much like the ribest of the country, is a significant shortage in our teachers, particularly substitute teachers. now, this shortage isn't unique to just teaching. many of our districts are experiencing shortages in bus drivers, in custodial staff, in food staff. i even know of one superintendent who's had to put on aprons for a few days and help serve food. so, one of the things -- and that brings me to an important