Hopewell officials believe they have removed odor source at school
Many students fell sick before holiday
Hopewell Area School District officials believe they have removed the source of an odor caused by rodents at one of their elementary schools where a significant number of students got sick prior to the winter break and prompted the school to move to virtual learning.
A series of updates from Superintendent Jeff Beltz posted on the district’s website sheds light on the ongoing situation that largely came to a head Dec. 15-16 when the school announced the discovery of rodents in an exterior wall at Hopewell Elementary. Those same days, roughly 50 students left school because of an illness. It was not clear if the sickness was related to the rodents.
Now, school officials are preparing for Hopewell Elementary students to return to in-person learning Tuesday following the winter break when employees and outside companies worked to remove the odor and ensure rodents were not in the school.
“Maneuvering varying worker and contractor schedules, tasks, and testing was a challenge with holidays interwoven,” Mr. Beltz wrote in a Dec. 30 letter. “Difficulties continued as contractor schedules abruptly changed due to frigid temperatures and emergency callouts surfacing throughout the region. In the end, all tasks were completed, and proper cleaning procedures were followed as crews finished up.”
According to Mr. Beltz, the problem started when an “unusual odor” increased in a classroom area on Dec. 6, prompting students in that class to be moved to a vacant room. Mr. Beltz said he first noticed the odor on Nov. 29 — his first day as superintendent — leading the district to call in Orkin, a pest control company, to investigate.
After the odor became stronger, however, Hopewell employees removed bottom cabinets and paneling on the exterior wall. There, they discovered rodent evidence in the classroom and crews removed the debris. Still, the odor persisted.
By Dec. 14, Hopewell employees moved into the boys’ bathroom and a neighboring exit vestibule. After moving tiles to access a wall cavity, the odor escaped into the hallway, Mr. Beltz said.
“The crew attempted to complete the cleanup task before school started, but students were in the building by that time,” Mr. Beltz wrote. “The crew finished and secured FRP paneling over the tile opening to temporarily secure that area.”
The next day, however, 20 students left school because of an illness, Mr. Beltz wrote in a Dec. 15 letter in which he informed families of the rodent issue. He said most symptoms were similar to those associated with gastroenteritis, which is a stomach virus, although he noted that he is “not claiming that is the diagnosis. I merely want to provide you with an understanding of symptoms displayed.”
By Dec. 16, the day after Mr. Beltz’s letter mentioning the rodent issue, 30 students left because of an illness, according to another letter from Mr. Beltz dated Dec. 18. Another 100 students were absent, meaning that 130 students were not in attendance that Friday. Hopewell Elementary educates around 360 students, according to state numbers, so more than a third of students were out that day. Mr. Beltz said in his Dec. 18 letter that some of the absences could have been because of “precautionary reasons.”
“Out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety” of Hopewell Elementary students, the school moved to remote learning from Dec. 19-22, the last day before winter break.
In all, two dead mice were found in one exterior wall cavity along with evidence of nesting and a tunnel with materials like wall insulations and mulch-like debris.
Because of a large shrew extraction that occurred at the elementary school more than 15 years ago, there were already cutouts in the wall that made the recent search less intrusive, Mr. Beltz said. He noted that over the years there have been a “few other small-scale instances of nesting removal too.”
Sporadic mouse droppings above the ceiling tiles on the boys’ bathroom and vestibule area was the first notification of any rodent debris being identified inside the building and not in the exterior wall, noted in a Dec. 19 air quality report by PSI Intertek.
The report highlighted a “slight musty odor” near the boys’ restroom and the vestibule. The suspected source was in the in-ceiling ventilation unit. Samples were taken and results indicated low levels of mostly common environmental molds.
Other precautions like placing bait traps, replacing wall insulation and disinfecting the classroom and bathroom spaces were also taken to remove the rodents.
In his Dec. 30 letter, Mr. Beltz said “we believe that we have extracted the odor source consisting of rodent debris within an exterior wall.” He noted, however, that “it is difficult to determine whether the odor has been completely removed at this point as treatments just concluded, but it smells significantly better.”
In an attempt to find the cause of the illness, water tests were taken. Initial results indicated that no sew-agerelated bacteria was found and a second round suggested the water was safe for consumption. The district is still waiting on a final round of results. They will have bottled water available at the school until those results are returned.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is also investigating the cause of the illness. Families will be notified when the investigation is finished.
Families are able to attend an informal walkthrough of the school, scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday. District officials will hold a presentation during the Jan. 10 school board meeting to detail decision-making, directional process and to show projects completed at the school.