West Branch set to reopen today after concern about pupils' rash

BELOIT -- The West Branch Local school district was to resume all classes today after canceling them Friday.
The district closed its schools as a precautionary measure when about 37 pupils at the Beloit Elementary School complained of a red, itchy rash about 10:30 a.m. Thursday. The school didn't close early Thursday.
The rash was determined to be a noncontiguous skin inflammation, district officials said.
Local emergency personnel tested the elementary school and the attached West Branch Middle School. The tests, school district officials say, showed there was nothing out of the ordinary at the schools.
The district's custodial staff sanitized the schools, said Dr. Scott Weingart, the district's superintendent.
"We were cleared to have school the next day," he said about Friday. "The decision to close the K-8 complex and ultimately the entire district was the decision of our administration. Naturally, the safety of our students and staff are our utmost concern."
The district had no reason to be concerned about its other three buildings, but decided to close and sanitize them as well, Weingart said.
Beloit Elementary and West Branch Middle School house about 850 students in the combination building that opened in 2003.
West Branch is a district of about 2,500 pupils located in portions of Mahoning, Columbiana and Portage counties.