Officials: No harmful carbon monoxide level at Crandon school
CRANDON – While many Wisconsinites looked forward to April 2 as Election Day, students and staff at Crandon Elementary School anticipated its arrival for another reason: They could finally return to their classrooms.
Since March 14, Crandon Elementary School remained closed after an unknown illness sickened 39 students, staff and EMS workers.
For weeks, it was believed carbon monoxide from a faulty furnace contributed to the illness, given symptoms including lightheadedness, tingling, slurred speech, numbness in extremities, shortness of breath and a rapid pulse, according to a press release from the Forest County Sheriff’s Office on March 14.
But in the two weeks since Crandon School District officials temporarily closed the elementary school for a comprehensive cleaning, Kirby Schultz, interim district administrator for Crandon School District, announced March 28 that the hazardous materials teams didn’t detect harmful levels of carbon monoxide on either the day of the incident or subsequent days.
And according to reports from local hospitals, the majority of patients didn’t have elevated levels of carbon monoxide in their systems, although this doesn’t appear to contradict reports from the Forest County Sheriff’s Office, issued March 15, which noted two people out of the 39 did have elevated carbon monoxide levels in their blood.
Finally, the Crandon School District’s press release stated that nothing abnormal revealed itself after testing for water contamination, hazardous metals and other harmful chemicals and substances.
The press release doesn’t explicitly offer an alternative explanation for why 39 individuals fell sick March 14, but under an abundance of caution, Schultz said the school district has installed carbon monoxide detectors in each school and tasked staff with monitoring those detectors daily.
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin reached out to Schultz for comment on what else could have sickened individuals, but he could not be reached for comment.
The school finished its deep cleaning of the facility and will continue to perform routine maintenance on all heating, ventilation and air conditioning components in the building.
News of the school’s suspected carbon monoxide leak made waves across the state, with state lawmakers on either end of the aisle committing to the creation of bills next session that would require school districts to install carbon monoxide detectors as part of the indoor environmental air quality plan, which all schools are required by law to have.
The news even made it to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who posted on X, formerly Twitter, “Every kid, educator, and staff member should be safe in our schools. I’ll be working on a plan to help address this issue that I’ll propose as part of my upcoming biennial budget.”
Schultz said in the press release he has full confidence that students and staff will be returning to a safe place for learning.
“We want to thank everyone for their patience and understanding while we’ve worked to take measures to ensure the safety and well-being of our students and staff,” Schultz wrote in the press release. “Our district mission has always been and will continue to be to empower and inspire lifelong learners in a safe school community.”