BLUETOWN - Bluetown Area School District administrators have scrapped plans to send students back to classrooms in fall.

More than 16,000 students will, instead, begin the school year entirely virtually, under a new plan unveiled without warning on Wednesday night and unanimously approved by the school board.

District administrators say the change became necessary because of the state of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools' ability to keep students safe, and staffing shortages.

Beverly Richardson, the district's assistant superintendent of assessment, curriculum and instruction, stressed virtual instruction will be the safest model for students, families and staff in the fall, and the experience will be improved from what was offered in the spring. He said all students will have access to district-provided devices.