A decision has not yet been made on whether the Penn Kidder Campus of the Jim Thorpe Area School District will reopen next week, as officials await the latest round of air quality results following a mothball incident that forced the building’s closure last month.

Acting Superintendent Dr. Tom Lesisko said the district expects to receive new test results by early next week, but no determination will be made until the air is confirmed safe.

“If everything goes perfectly, we should get the word on Wednesday that the air is clear — or that there’s still a problem,” he said.

Testing began early Thursday morning.

“They were supposed to be there at 7 a.m. to start,” Lesisko said. “It’s an all-day, eight-hour test that pulls in air like a typical workday. The samples will then be shipped to Knoxville, Tennessee, where the only available testing machine is located.”

The district expects the lab to begin analysis Monday.

“They usually tell us it’s a three-day turnaround once they start testing,” Lesisko said. “So if everything goes right, we should hear something by midweek.”

Penn Kidder has been closed since Sept. 23, when a strong mothball odor led to the discovery that mothballs had been placed inside a heating and cooling unit to deter mice. The chemical vapors were drawn into the ventilation system and circulated throughout the building.

An initial round of testing earlier this month found five rooms with elevated levels of para-dichlorobenzene, one of the two chemicals commonly found in mothballs. The other chemical, naphthalene, was not detected.

The district received the formal report on the results Wednesday, Lesisko said.

Since Oct. 4, large fans with charcoal filters have been operating inside the building to help remove any remaining vapors.

“We brought in these big fans with charcoal filters that pull out anything still left in the air,” Lesisko said. “We’ll turn them off while testing is underway. We’re just hoping the results come back clean.”

Lesisko said the district will release the full report and a summary for families once the review is complete.

“The report is 40 pages,” he said. “People are going to want to look through that. We’ll post the full report and a summary explaining the results.”

If the new results show safe air levels, the district could begin planning to bring students back later next week.

“We’re hoping to get a preliminary update Tuesday,” Lesisko said. “If the air is clear, we’ll decide whether to bring students back right away or keep them in their temporary locations through next Friday.”

Monday is a planned in-service day in the district.

While testing continues, students and teachers have been relocated to other district buildings. Students in grades K–5 are attending classes at LB Morris Elementary, while grades 6–8 are at Jim Thorpe Area High School.

Pre-K Counts students are also meeting at the high school during their usual morning hours.

Making it work

Lesisko said both staff and students have adjusted well to the temporary move.

“It is tough with space and adjustments, but overall it’s been pretty good,” he said. “The Penn Kidder kids have been enjoying it in both buildings. Teachers are making it work. There’s even been some neat co-teaching going on.”

He said seventh-graders are using the high school auditorium, which seats about 800 people. “We only have about 70 kids there, so they can be spaced out,” Lesisko said. “We have one group on stage using each corner. It’s really not bad.”

In the high school, Lesisko said, with one grade level using the auditorium, one in a large group instruction area and another in the library.

LB Morris has faced tighter conditions, but Lesisko said staff there are managing well.

“It’s far from ideal,” he said. “But we’re making the best of the situation.”

Timeline

The incident that led to the closure began around 9:15 a.m. on Sept. 23, according to a timeline provided by the district, when Principal Holly Mordaunt reported a strong mothball smell in the building. Custodians discovered mothballs inside the control panel area of a first-floor HVAC system serving 26 rooms. The odor spread quickly through the ventilation system.

By 9:30 a.m., students were moved outside, windows were opened, and transportation officials were put on standby for an early dismissal. Custodians removed the mothballs, wiped down blower areas, replaced filters, and ventilated classrooms with outside air. Parents were notified of the early dismissal at 10:10 a.m., and students were dismissed between 10:30 and 11:15 a.m.

Although the smell diminished, the district contacted Mountain Research Labs to conduct professional testing for chemical vapors. Technicians collected eight-hour air samples on Sept. 29. The samples were initially sent to the company’s Lancaster lab but later shipped to Knoxville, Tennessee, due to an equipment malfunction.

The results, received on Oct. 3, showed five of nine samples contained elevated levels of para-dichlorobenzene, prompting the district to extend the closure and begin air purification.

To keep instruction on track, officials said, the district implemented Flexible Instruction Days from Sept. 29 through Oct. 3, with teachers emailing assignments and distributing printed packets. Pickups were held at the Penn Forest fields and outside of the Penn Kidder Campus on Sept. 27 and 28.

Meal distribution also continued during the closure, with families receiving multiple days of breakfasts and lunches at a time.

Student belongings remain in classrooms. Staff removed perishable food items but left all other materials in place.

“When students return, they will find their belongings where they left them, minus any perishable food,” the district stated.

District officials confirmed the mothballs were placed in the HVAC system by someone attempting to eliminate a minor mice problem reported in late July and early August.

It was reported that the mothballs were placed in response to mice droppings.

The district’s FAQ on the website says, “By mid-August, the mice were eradicated.”