The number of students in quarantine in Toms River continues to fall after Superintendent Stephen Genco criticized the way the school district was represented in numerous media reports this week.  

From misleading headlines to attempts to connect cases to the district's mask policy, Genco says the erroneous reporting in other news segments has led to frustrations and wants the focus to return to education.  

Since last school year, Toms River Regional Schools post daily COVID-19 data on its website.  

Today's data shows a drop in quarantined students representing 5.5% of the student body. Cumulative cases remain at around 1.5% of the student body.

As News 12 reported Wednesday, the cases are in line, according to the district and health department, with what a school would see in a high transmission county such as Ocean. 

News 12 also reported the data did not support any link between the mask optional policy in the small percentage of classrooms and buildings without air conditioning -- and case numbers. That policy ended on Sept. 20.

Genco sent an open letter to the district Thursday, in part reading, “At no point which you are all aware since we began the year with weekly mask communication did, we not adhere to Executive Order #251 and the seven total school days during which we exercised the excessive heat exemption, masks were only optional in non-air conditioned spaces.” 

Genco went on to say how proud and grateful he is of the students and parents who commended the district in their efforts to keep students safe. There are no plans to switch any of the schools to remote learning.