Parents Concerned After Sapulpa High School, Junior High Move To Distance Learning Due To Natural Gas Odor

Some Sapulpa parents are worried after their students started smelling odors of gas at school on Wednesday.

"Carbon monoxide, the school going up in flames, a lot of things are going through my mind," said parent Chelsea Tarwater.

The district sent all high school and junior high students to a different building and moved classes online.

Sapulpa school leaders say there was a gas leak last week on campus and those odors popped up again when the furnaces were turned on for Wednesday.

A parent who spoke to News On 6 said it's been a headache to work around these issues since they've been happening a lot lately.

The end of the school day came early for students at Sapulpa High and Junior High. School leaders say students started smelling gas in a classroom, which prompted them to evacuate.

Students were moved to the basketball arena, where many parents came to get their kids early.

"I mean, I would drop everything for my kid, it's just hard to do when you have appointments and things scheduled out," Tarwater said.

She said the school has been dealing with gas odors over the last several days.

"Me and my husband were like why are they even going to school today, it's been an ongoing issue, we got messages on Friday and then messages yesterday," she said.

The district says there was a gas leak last week caused by the construction of the new high school.

"There was still that residual smell and people were concerned about that, some parents were concerned about that and got text messages from their students," said Heather Browne with Sapulpa Schools.

School leaders say absences will not be counted towards the students who left early. They're looking forward to the new school being finished in hopes of issues like this coming to an end.

"This high school is so old, those furnaces are old, when you turn on old furnaces in an old house or an old school like this one, issues are bound to occur," Browne said.

Parents told News On 6 they are considering keeping their kids home for good until the smell of gas around campus no longer causes a stink.

The district says classes for high school and junior high students will also be online Thursday and Friday.

Sapulpa Schools sent the following statement:

Dear Chieftains,

We appreciate your continued understanding as our high school and junior high worked through a natural gas issue. The problem on Wednesday was isolated to a classroom furnace in the High School and not a result of new construction. Repairs have been completed and Oklahoma Natural Gas has rigorously tested the system and it is operating normally. 

Sapulpa High School and Sapulpa Junior High School will remain in Distance Learning on Friday, December 13, as we allow the heating system to cycle for the next 24 hours. Students should log into Schoology to complete assignments. Middle School athletes will report to the Middle School for first hour and Bartlett Academy will also observe Distance Learning.

At this time, we expect in-person learning to resume on Monday, December 16. 

Oklahoma Natural Gas says anyone who smells gas should get out of the area and call for help.