What’s that smell?

At around 12:55 p.m. on Monday, March 18, announcements rang throughout the school as assistant principal Mr. Keisel announced over the intercom that bathrooms would be closed due to plumbing issues that were occurring. Prior to that announcement, many students and staff members were alarmed by sewage and burning smells throughout the school.

Principal Edgar Nelson said in an email to the parents at 1:42 p.m., “While some facilities were affected by the backup, others remained fully functional and available for student use. We have communicated with staff and students about which restrooms are currently operational.”

Some teachers’ rooms that contained drains in the 100 and 300 halls, began filling with water. As administrators were alarmed by this issue, various staff members and students began reporting on water filling their rooms. “I noticed a weird sewage smell, and we looked in the drain and noticed water was coming up,” junior Jillian Kalbac said.

Maintenance members and custodial staff acted quickly to try and contain this mess. Throughout 8th hour they were vacuuming up the constant flowing sewage water. Due to this, all bathrooms on the lower level of the building including the gym hallway bathrooms were blocked off for usage due to the constant flooding of the bathrooms. Gym locker rooms were also affected, as water began coming from the drains, leaving a puddle on the ground.

But bathrooms and classrooms were not the only areas that were impacted. The cheer storage closet had some flooding as their equipment and belongings have been damaged by the water. “We aren’t sure of the current damages, but as soon as everything is cleaned up we will see what’s damaged,” cheer coach Colin Johnson said.

While maintenance members of the Wentzville School District and administrators began working on resolving the issue, staff members made sure to protect their classrooms and students.

“Water is coming out of places it shouldn’t be coming out of,” 100 hallway teacher, Lauren Jacks said. For safety and sanity reasons, administrators decided that all students in the 100 hallway were released early at 2:12 p.m. instead of the normal release time at 2:15 p.m.

While the main cause of this issue is still unknown, some staff members said that this all started in the 100 hallway in the storage closet. “We appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We are committed to ensuring a clean and functional learning environment for all students,” Nelson said.

Maintenance members will be working throughout the night as they hope to resolve this issue by school time tomorrow.

This story was originally published on LHStoday on March 18, 2024.