Students at the Jim Thorpe Area School District’s Penn Kidder Campus will remain out of the building through at least Wednesday following an air quality issue traced to mothballs placed near a ventilation system, Acting Superintendent Tom Lesisko said Friday morning.

The decision came after students were dismissed early Wednesday when staff noticed a strong mothball odor in one of the hallways. The odor spread through the ventilation system into several classrooms.

“We quickly discussed the situation and determined we needed to get the kids out of the building,” Lesisko said. “The smell was not something we were used to, and mothballs certainly are not healthy. The safety of our students and staff was critical.”

While the district is still reviewing what happened in its entirety, Lesisko said there was no intentional malice.

“We believe this was done with good intention,” he said, “but once the fans started picking up some of the released odor, it spread.”

Penn Kidder, according to Lesisko, had a rodent issue in the summer where sightings of droppings led to Ehrlich Pest Control coming to the campus for a treatment.

“Traps were put outside the building,” he said. “Nobody has seen mice in the building. There were some droppings and that is where this individual decided to put the moth balls.”

Thursday had already been scheduled as an in-service day. The campus remained closed Friday as the district worked with environmental professionals to address the problem.

Testing is expected to begin Monday, with results taking 24 to 48 hours. The testing requires certified air sampling vessels, not just surface swabs like a typical mold check.

Those vessels are specialized containers that capture air over an extended period in the affected areas.

“They will go in on Monday and collect the air,” Lesisko said. “That takes about eight hours because the vessels they use sit in different locations.

“Normally for an area this size they would use three vessels, but because there are volatile chemicals involved they are using 10 to make sure there are no mistakes.”

The samples will be taken to a lab in Lancaster, which will be working in tandem with a facility in Louisiana.

“It’s a very unique situation,” Lesisko said. “If it were something simple like black mold, there’s a straightforward test. This is much more complicated.”

While waiting for results, teachers are preparing three days of lessons.

“We’re trying to provide lessons students can do at home without a lot of parental assistance if possible,” Lesisko said. “We’re emailing everything home and will also have paper versions available for pickup over the weekend.”

Because students left the building quickly Wednesday, their technology devices were left behind.

The district is also providing free meals for Penn Kidder students, available for pickup at Jim Thorpe Area High School.

Friday was the first pickup. On Monday, parents of students at Penn Kidder will again be able to pick up breakfast and lunch that will include food for both Monday and Tuesday. Pickup time will be 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. If the school will still be closed beyond that, the school will advise parents.

“We’re fortunate enough that every student in the district is eligible to receive a free breakfast and a free lunch every day, Holly Mordaunt, principal at Penn Kidder, said during the pickup on Friday.

“We wanted to make sure that we were taking care of our children, making sure they are fed, and helping out these families as much as we can, because it’s an emergency situation, and we’re all just doing our very best,” she said.

Pre-K Counts students are able to attend the high school while Penn Kidder remains closed.

Lesisko said the district is reviewing its procedures in the aftermath of this week’s situation.

“We are investigating how this happened, but I can’t go into details because it’s a personnel issue,” he said. “We are also looking at how we released students and how we communicated with parents. We’re trying to keep everyone up to date even when we don’t have 100% of the facts.”

Instructional time requirements were also addressed.

“During the pandemic the state changed the requirement from 180 days to 900 hours for K-8 and 990 hours for high school,” he said. “We have flexibility, and we believe we have enough time built into the year to cover the hours.”

Lesisko praised district staff for their response.

“Transportation was fantastic getting drivers there that day,” Lesisko said. “The staff has been preparing, brainstorming, and collaborating. Some Penn Kidder teachers are at the high school today working with colleagues to get resources.

“It’s a horrible situation, but there are some positives. Everyone wants the best for the kids.”

James Logue Jr. contributed to this report.