West Branch schools resume classes Friday

BELOIT — The West Branch school district’s combined middle and elementary school will reopen Friday, Superintendent Dr. Scott R. Weingart said today. Two rooms — a classroom and a music room — where the rash initially affected students will remain closed.

Those rooms and the school were checked today by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The Ohio Department of Health is also investigating. Results of the tests made by the OEPA with a more sensitive device than one used in previous tests will not be available until early next week, said Mike Nettles, an OEPA spokesman.

The rash has been treatable in both youths and adults.