BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — After back and forth on back-to-school plans all summer, many schools in northwest Ohio are being encouraged to err on the side of caution and start the school year virtually.
While this is not what many had in mind, some districts were already planning to go online to minimize risk.
“We wanted to make sure that whatever decision we made we would stick with, and give it a run and see how it worked out,” Bowling Green City Schools Superintendent Francis Scruci said.
The Bowling Green City Schools Board voted to start the school year entirely online last month. They also agreed to push the first day of school back to Sept. 8 to allow training for teachers.
“If the worst thing that we can be criticized for is being conservative on the side of health and safety of staff and students then we can live with that,” Scruci said.
He added the board is setting an Oct. 9 deadline to see if it's safe to start bringing students back to the classroom.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he feels superintendents throughout the state have been doing a good job forming back-to-school plans but is reminding them to keep an eye on case trends.
“Whatever is going on in the community will be reflected in your school. You know if it's a high COVID spread throughout the community it will be high in your school," DeWine said.
Scruci said the district will have to see case numbers trending in a positive direction before bringing students back, and will need to see the red or orange levels turn to yellow or green.
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