T-L Photo/CARRI GRAHAM Switzerland of Ohio Local School District Superintendent Phil Ackerman, right, talks about the COVID-19 cases in the school district and possible policy changes during Thursday’s board of education meeting. Also pictured, from left, are Jennifer Bahach, chief academic officer, and Larry Koslik, director of special education.

WOODSFIELD — The Switzerland of Ohio Local School District has not implemented a mask mandate; however, officials will continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19 in the schools and may make mandates in the future, depending on the number of positive cases.

Superintendent Phil Ackerman gave an update on the district’s COVID-19 policy during Thursday’s board of education meeting. He said there are 26 positive cases among students and faculty in the schools.

“Our numbers are rising slowly. We had 10 positive cases last Friday and we had 24 positive cases Tuesday. We’re just slightly over 1 percent of our student population and staff population put together,” he said. “Those cases are predominantly in the elementary schools.”

The case numbers in the schools change daily, Ackerman said. He noted his biggest concern is the health and safety of the students and staff, and also having enough available staff to continue in-class education.

Moving forward, Ackerman recommended continuing the current policy of optional mask wearing in the schools, and mandatory mask wearing on the buses as determined by the state. He said officials will monitor the situation and take it on a “day-to-day” basis.

Ackerman discussed alternative options to a district-wide mask mandate, such as only mandating masks in the elementary schools due to the high number of positive cases.

“I’m not recommending or suggesting this at this time … I think sometimes the schools, even though we’re a big part of our community, it’s a piece of what our students and staff experience every day — we’re talking six hours out of the 24 hours. I think we have to keep that in perspective as well. But, you could say this if you looked at the data, moving forward, if you needed to make some change in our protocol, you could look at the data and say maybe we’ll require masks at the elementary schools and continue to monitor because it is predominantly at the elementary schools, a large percentage,” he said.

Ackerman suggested establishing a threshold to potentially mandate masks in the schools that go above a certain percentage of the population with positive cases.

“For example, right now we’re slightly above 1 percent. .. You could pick a number like 4 percent. If a building reaches 4 percent then they go to masks for a week, and then after that they’ll have a few days where they drop below that then they don’t have to wear a mask anymore,” he said.

Ackerman said the option is just a suggestion and not a recommendation. He said he just wanted the board to be aware there are alternatives to implementing a district-wide mask mandate.

“There are other options and we’re not just locked into no masks or masks for everyone. I think we need to look at the data and make a responsible decision,” he said.

Sarah Smith, board member, asked Ackerman what the current policy is regarding a student testing positive. He said if a student or faculty member tests positive, they are quarantined for 10 days. He said the district is working closely with the Monroe County Health Department, which contacts the schools when a positive case is reported in the district. He said district leaders then send a letter home to parents of students in the class where someone has tested positive, while the health department conducts the contract tracing.

No further discussion was held regarding a possible policy change. Following the meeting, board President Ron Winkler said officials will continue to monitor the district’s cases. A meeting will be held if changes are deemed necessary.