News

Actions

Kenston Middle School closed for remainder of the week after fumes prompted evacuations

Posted at 10:13 AM, Oct 04, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-05 08:44:54-04

Kenston Middle School will now be closed for the remainder of the week as a precaution, after more students and staff have fallen ill inside the school building.

At first, the district reported that several students got sick on Tuesday from chemical fumes coming from roofing glue used in a construction project.

The reason for the most recent illnesses is unknown.

The Kenston School District spokesperson said the Bainbridge Fire Department previously gave the district the all-clear to reopen the school after Tuesday's evacuation. However, four more staff members and three students fell ill on Wednesday. They experienced the same symptoms as the day before -- headaches and dizziness.

All of the students and staff were sent to Kenston High School for shelter.

"We really shouldn't have had school today, because of what happened yesterday, and a lot of people feeling ill, " said eighth grader Gwen Gembarski.

News 5 also talked to a parent, who has a son at Kenson Middle and works at the school.

"Lots of people would like things to be handled differently," said parent and staff member Jeff Link.

Link added that the school leaders are doing the best they can.

"There's not really a playbook on how to handle everything," he said.

All after school events scheduled inside the school are canceled as well.

Bainbridge Fire and Geauga County Health officials are investigating the cause of the illnesses on Wednesday.

On Thursday, October 5,  parents and students can pick up their belonging from 9-11 a.m. to 5-7 p.m.