Students at Watson Chapel High School were dismissed after the campus was evacuated Thursday morning following reports of a gas leak. The district said it later found the reports to be unsubstantiated, but apparently one student was taken to the hospital after suffering breathing difficulties, according to a relative.
Buses began to pick up students after 9:45 a.m. to take them home. The Watson Chapel School District announced through its alert system all other campuses would remain in session for the day. The school day at WCHS will have to be made up at a later date, the district announced.
District Superintendent Keith McGee said faculty members detected a smell of gas before the start of classes.
“Kids never made it into the school before the first bell,” McGee said. “Upon arrival, everyone was put on the football field. We evacuated them out. The gas smell by employees was detected before class began.”
At 8:11 a.m., an initial emergency alert via text, phone message and email stated the Watson Chapel administrative team immediately implemented safety protocols and evacuated the building. Students and staff were moved to the football stadium, which is the high school’s “safe space,” according to the district. The district maintenance team and plumbers checked all gas lines and local emergency personnel were assisting, according to the text.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
At 8:42 a.m. the district announced via text and phone message local authorities were on site while the district was following safety protocols for hazardous spills. Parents at the time were asked to refrain from going to the school and attempting to check out students.
At 8:49 a.m. the district stated the potential gas leak report was found to be unsubstantiated by local authorities. At that time, the district stated, precautionary measures were taken and students had the option of a hot or cold lunch. The district had announced normal operations would continue at the time.
“When the all-clear was called, the fire platoon chief, out of an abundance of caution, removed them because he wanted to check another line,” McGee said. “That took about 3 to 5 minutes. After that, we made the decision to cancel school.”
Natalie Wilson of Mena said she has two sisters attending Watson Chapel High. One of them, a senior, reached out to Wilson “in hysterics” as the younger sister, a junior, was receiving oxygen from firefighters, she said.
The younger sister was taken to the emergency room at Jefferson Regional Medical Center after having issues from the gas smell, Wilson said. The younger sister was released from the hospital before 11:40 a.m. and diagnosed with “inhalation of gaseous substance,” Wilson said.
“She had a full-blown asthma attack. I’ve only heard her do that one other time,” Wilson added. “My sister absolutely could have died.”
McGee said he had not received a report of any student becoming sick or seen a student appearing to be sick from the gas smell.
Summit Utilities and Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services were on the scene to check the gas lines, McGee said.
This was the third incident in nine days that prompted WCSD officials to send out alerts. On Aug. 21, the district said a female called the high school office implying a threat of harm to the school. The building was vacated and law enforcement arrived by about 12:30 p.m., 5 minutes after the call reportedly came in.
“In conjunction with the WCSD security team, the threat was investigated and the claims were found to be unsubstantiated. The building was cleared of any threat by 12:45 p.m.,” the district announced.
The WCSD said in an alert at 4:31 p.m. Tuesday that security and administration team members noticed an individual who was not a student in the district while following daily security protocols.
“The individual was immediately apprehended before entering the building,” the district said. “They were searched & illegal drugs & a weapon were found. Local authorities were contacted, arrived on the scene, and the individual was arrested & taken into custody. There were no injuries nor disruption to the high school campus. WCHS continued to operate on a normal schedule.”
McGee said that incident took place at about 7 or 7:15 a.m.
“We communicated before earlier,” he said. “The message was sent earlier, but it didn’t go out until later because it didn’t impact anyone on campus.”
Wilson commented she signed up for alerts “because there’s always something going on at Watson Chapel.”
In a video posted on Facebook at 1:40 p.m. Tuesday, McGee appeared with high school Principal Jeffrey Neal and thanked all stakeholders for their cooperation with the evacuation.
“We want to share with all of our students, our staff and parents that we have conducted a thorough inspection of the building,” Neal said. “The building is safe, and all students will return to class on tomorrow, on Friday. We will also continue with our normal activities that we have planned for (Friday), so our football game is still on, our pep rally and other things we have scheduled. We are looking forward to a good day and the end of the week.”
The building is safe because the video was recorded inside the school’s media center, McGee said.
State education officials last fall admonished the WCSD to improve its safety procedures while also investigating the district’s student record-keeping procedures regarding academics. The secondary campuses have been subjected to a number of calls threatening harm, most of them reportedly “unsubstantiated,” since a freshman at the now-demolished junior high school was shot to death on campus by a classmate in March 2021. The classmate pleaded guilty in May 2023 and received a 40-year prison sentence.
McGee became the WCSD’s superintendent last month, its fourth since 2018.
“The one thing we’re trying to do is be transparent and communicate to everyone,” McGee said. “We don’t have anything to hide. Once we learn the facts, we’ll communicate that. We want to build trust in the community.”
Commercial Editor Byron Tate contributed to this article.
Students wait outside the football ticket booth at Watson Chapel High School to be picked up following an early release due to a gas smell Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)