ONTARIO — Ontario Local Schools has begun delivering free meals to students during the district’s period of all-remote learning, superintendent Lisa Carmichael said at Tuesday night’s board meeting.

Meals are delivered weekly on Mondays via school bus. Each Ontario student can receive five breakfasts and five lunches per delivery.

Carmichael said the district delivered meals to 270 students on Monday, but she would like more families to take advantage of the program.

Families can register for free meal delivery by filling out the weekly registration forms on the district website COVID-19 updates page.

Carmichael also addressed the district’s recent transition to all-virtual learning. She shared that since Oct. 17, there have been 45 new COVID-19 cases among students and staff. She added that due to positive cases and quarantines, there had been nearly a whole grade level absent from school, along with multiple bus drivers and kitchen staff.

“We really tried our very best to have school in-person these last two weeks,” she said. “It just got down to not having appropriate staffing levels and also just the safety of our children because we really have seen a big spike.”

Carmichael stated that she decided to temporarily suspend robocalls notifying families of individual COVID cases within the district, but that notifications will continue to be posted on the COVID-19 page of the website.

Right now, teachers are coming into their classrooms to teach virtually but not having lunch together, Carmichael said.

“Our teachers are sad. It’s been a really hard time,” she said.

The district has tentatively scheduled a return to in-person learning on Jan. 11. Carmichael stated that since March, she has sought to follow the guidance of Richland Public Health.

She added that she spoke with health commissioner Sarah Humphrey, who recommended all Richland County schools go virtual when the county hit purple, before making the call.

“First and foremost we have to take safety into consideration,” she said. “The remote learning isn’t ideal, especially for our little ones, but we’re doing the very best we can.”

During a work session, the board discussed how it would go about starting a search for a new superintendent for the district. Carmichael is expected to retire after her contract expires at the end of the 2021-2022 school year.

Members agreed that it could be helpful to contract with an outside organization to aid in the superintendent search. Educational service centers and the Ohio School Board Association both offer such services. Members stated that a team from Ashland University helped the board during its last superintendent search.

Board member Jerod Them said that if the board hired the OSBA, it would advertise the opening and help screen candidates, then forward information regarding the best candidates to the board.

Board president Heidi Zimmerman said she would appreciate help from an outside party that could examine candidates from a non-biased perspective.

Board Amy Hiner agreed and added that she would like to get community input on the new superintendent search through focus groups.

Board members agreed to research the cost and services included by various parties.

The board also approved a resolution endorsing the Fair School Funding Plan.