Park Forest Middle School students dismissed early after nearby sewer issue

State College Area’s Park Forest Middle School was dismissed early Tuesday afternoon due to a nearby sewer issue affecting the building.

Fire police were called in to help school resource officers evacuate the Patton Township building at about 11:30 a.m., according to a post on the Centre County Emergency Alerts Facebook page.

Normal dismissal procedures began shortly after, with walkers dismissed at noon and bus riders being sent home on their regular buses, according to information on the SCASD website. Parents were directed to pick up students in the Park Forest Pool lot.

Chris Rosenblum, the district’s communications director, said a sewer line underneath the school was blocked, requiring the school to shut off the water. The blockage has been removed and the district is cleaning affected areas of the school, Rosenblum said.

“Nearby water main repairs earlier in the morning caused sewage problems in the building, so we had to shut off the water,” Rosenblum wrote in an email to the CDT. “Odor inside also was an issue.”

All after-school events and activities are canceled.

Classes are expected to be back in session Wednesday, Rosenblum wrote.

“We will be doing further testing this evening but at this time, we anticipate returning to normal operations tomorrow.”

This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 12:34 PM.