WOODSFIELD — Switzerland of Ohio Local School District officials announced that masks will be optional for both faculty and students for the upcoming school year.

Superintendent Phil Ackerman, who took office Aug. 1, gave his first report as superintendent during Thursday’s board of education meeting and announced the COVID-19 protocols for the upcoming school year. Ackerman said the policy could change since the district’s school year does not begin until Aug. 31, but for now masks will be optional.

“Employees and students can wear a mask or not at this point in time,” he said.

Students will be required to wear masks on school bus rides to and from school and when traveling for activities due to it being a form of public transportation. Masks have been mandated on all forms of public transportation.

“The current position of the CDC and federal law is that public transportation must wear a mask. School buses are public transportation so … drivers and students while they’re on the bus will be required to wear masks,” he said. “… Safety matters and doing what we’re mandated to do matters. There’s a difference between recommended and mandatory, and that is mandated.”

Ackerman said all students who test positive for the coronavirus must quarantine for 10 days.

In other matters, Twila Dougherty, a substitute teacher for Skyvue Elementary, spoke to board members about the lack of a library at the elementary school. She asked the board to expedite the school’s expansion that was planned last year but has not yet begun.

“Skyvue was built for 160 students and we have over 200. In fact, the latest figure I have is around 240 including the preschool,” she said. “… The building is so crowded that this spring our 4,000-book library was packed into boxes and moved into an outdoor storage shed.”

Dourgherty said reading is fundamental for students and aids them in excelling in their studies. She said students who attend the school are from all over Monroe County and may not be able to easily access the public library in Woodsfield.

“When they get home at night, they might not have the time or the resources to see that their kids get to the library,” she added of area parents.

She said she and others have been helping students who do not have access to the internet get books to do their projects, book reports and research papers.

“That’s what libraries are for, to help teachers teach children. I just feel so upset that that library is in a box,” she said.

Dougherty acknowledged that the board has been pushing for the school expansion; however, she asked them to try to fast-track the project. She then thanked the board members for their time.

Also during the meeting, before approving July’s financial report, board President Ron Winkler said the district’s attorney fees have been “skyrocketing” over the past few months.

“I can’t believe how much we’re spending. I know this month is $16,000 for attorney fees,” he said.

Winkler said he contacted Treasurer Connie Kress for an itemized statement to discover who is calling an attorney and what their reasoning is instead of using the Ohio School Board Association attorney, which is free. He said Kress declined to give him the statement due to needing the board’s approval first.

Kress, who was present via teleconference, said she was told the board’s approval is necessary because it is a matter of attorney-client privilege.

Winkler said the matter needs to be looked into further in the future. The board took no action on the matter.

The board also scheduled a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 19 at Swiss Hills Career Center to discuss the superintendent’s recommendation to suspend the contracts of five district employees.