The Butler Area School District closed all school buildings Monday and will close them again Jan. 25, as a trial for a new plan that would have four days of in-person instruction and one day of remote instruction every week.

When a school reaches the state’s COVID-19 case count threshold over a 14-day period, the school must be cleaned and remain vacant for three consecutive days. When students return to school, the COVID cases for that building resets to zero and the 14-day clock begins again.

Closing schools Monday and Jan. 25, both in-service days for teachers, allows the district to close the buildings for three days and reset the case count, according to a Saturday post on the district website from Superintendent Brian White.

If successful, the district will consider closing schools every Friday, so the schools can be closed for three consecutive days, he said.