OCONOMOWOC – Officials with the Oconomowoc Area School District are allowing students and staff to reclaim their belongings Saturday afternoon following an“air quality issue” at Oconomowoc High School this past week.
The high school will be open from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, the school district said in a Facebook post. The full post is listed below:
"Oconomowoc High School (OHS) will be open from 3:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. today, March 24, for staff and students to reclaim belongings. Staff will arrive prior to students to help secure the building, then students will be allowed to enter. We ask students to locate their belongings then exit the building. Students and families will receive detailed instructions on the process to reclaim items by email.
Air quality monitoring units at OHS and the Oconomowoc Arts Center (OAC) have been in place since Thursday, March 22. We were informed yesterday, March 23, that equipment inside the Oconomowoc Arts Center (OAC) showed slightly raised levels of Carbon Monoxide (CO). At that time, levels were still below the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard of safety.
We monitored CO levels overnight and throughout the day on Saturday, March 24th, and have found no abnormal readings either in the OAC or other places throughout the school. At 11:00 a.m. on Saturday the Western Lakes Fire District also inspected the OAC and adjacent spaces and also found no readings of carbon monoxide. As a result, the District, with the support of the Western Lakes Fire District, believes it is safe to allow students and staff into OHS to reclaim their belongings. On Sunday, March 25th we will share more information about the planned safe return to school on Monday."
The high school has remained closed since Thursday, after nearly 200 students and staff members became sick from elevated elements of carbon monoxide
On Saturday, the school district said there were no “abnormal readings” of Carbon Monoxide throughout the high school. With these results -- and the support of an area fire department --the school district says they believe it is safe to allow students and staff to enter the school reclaim their belongings.
The school district will provide an update on Sunday about the “planned safe return to school” on Monday.
