MOORESVILLE, N.C. — School leaders were forced to cancel classes at Mooresville High School Wednesday because of a gas leak in the building.
In a statement on Twitter, school officials apologized for the late notice but said they needed to close school for the day because of the leak.
MHS family: due to a gas leak in the building, MHS will be closed today, Wednesday Nov 20. No other schools in MGSD are affected. We sincerely apologize for the late notice. Again, MHS is closed today and will not have school.
— MHS Blue Devils (@MHSBlueDevils) November 20, 2019
Students at the school told Channel 9 they could smell a "propane-like" smell during the school day Tuesday.
Parents said students were on buses and arriving at school before school leaders made the call to cancel classes Wednesday.
The high school sent out a letter to parents Wednesday morning saying the leak was discovered Tuesday afternoon.
Diane Sheehan has two sons who attend the school. She told Channel 9 she's furious because the gas leak made her sons sick.
Sheeham said her youngest son called her Tuesday morning asking her to pick him up because his head and stomach were hurting.
She also said when her oldest son got home, he mentioned the same symptoms.
"It really wasn't handled well yesterday after talking to other parents and finding out mine were not the only ones who got sick," Sheeham said.
Sheeham said her children told her that staff checked out classrooms Tuesday and even opened windows, but they never evacuated.
"If you have to open a window because of gas, you get the people out," she said. "You evacuate, and you call the fire department or the gas company. They didn't do that and that's where my concern is.
Officials said they called 911 and Dominion Energy. The company found the leak in the boiler room and shut it down. It thought it had fixed the issue, but a small leak was discovered Wednesday morning.
The school said the leak Wednesday morning was small enough that classes could have been held, but they decided against it.
According to the district, the school will be open Thursday.
No other schools in the district have been affected.
Mooresville Schools sent Channel 9 the following statement:
The smell wasn't confirmed to be a gas smell until after students were dismissed yesterday. We do not automatically cancel classes or dismiss school at initial reports of an odor. We contact the appropriate authorities (maintenance department, gas company, fire department, etc.) to make a determination of the source of the odor and any necessary steps that need to be taken to ensure the safety of our students and staff.
I do not have information related to any student complaints but will discuss further with our administration at MHS.
School is on schedule for tomorrow.
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