Pinelands Regional Shuts Down Again, Three Days After Reopening

LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP - Three days after reopening, Pinelands Regional school district officials abruptly closed schools again on Friday.

Acting Superintendent Cheryl Stevenson said the closure is unrelated to the ongoing air quality or asbestos issues that have plagued the district recently, but new issues involving "construction at the high school."

"In the spirit of transparency and in collaboration with the administrative team and the full support of the Board of Education, the district will be closed on Friday October 13, 2017," Stevenson said, according to The Press of Atlantic City. "Please plan on this to be an extended closure of the high school building until all issues with the project can be addressed."

Stevenson said a parent meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday in the junior high school cafeteria to discuss the reopening of the school on Monday, Oct. 16.

TTI Environmental Inc. - the district’s environmental consultant - concluded on Oct. 4 that the most recent testing indicted the results for asbestos were within federal and state standards, Stevenson has said in a message posted on the district website.

TII later concluded verbally that the air quality sampling for volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) was also safe for occupancy, she said.

TII also recommended that the district use filters to get rid of "transient substances" that were producing unfamiliar odors, Stevenson has said.

But students have complained of headaches, nausea and odors since the beginning of the school year. District officials hired TII to come in and do air quality testing last week. District schools were closed from Tuesday through Friday last week.

“Understand no one up here even considers putting anyone in jeopardy,” District Business Administrator Stephen Brennan said at a recent Board of Education meeting.

The district is already using filter units in the high school building to remove substances that are causing odors and will ramp cleaning efforts to minimize dust, Stevenson has said.

The district is in the middle of an ongoing roof construction project.

For test sampling results from last week, click here.

Image: Pinelands Regional School District