Foul Smell At Brown Middle Has Parents, Officials Worried

By ABC-7 Reporter Rachel Abell

EL PASO — You can’t see it, but you sure can smell it! A strange odor at Brown Middle School in west El Paso has parents very concerned and school officials hustling to find the cause.

Wednesday afternoon,some of thoseparents met with school officials to discuss whether or not their children are at risk.

“If there is a situation, everyone should be told. A parent has a right to be informed and make informed decisions,” said Ann Livingston, a concerned parent.

At the meeting, district officials explained the odor was first discovered last year when the school opened. They said experts figured out the smell is caused by naturally occurring sewer gases that are creating low levels of hydrogen-sulfide in the air.

Officials said they havetaken steps to eliminate the odor only todiscoverit reappears at a different locations on campus.

Someparents told ABC-7 theyunderstand it is a difficult situation, butare frustrated it has been allowed to go on for so long. Specially, they said, without any warning or notification from the school district.

District officials believe students, staff and faculty at the school arenot indanger, butsaid they will continue to work to get the problem completely fixed.

“We’re very concerned about anyone at risk, butthe air quality tests show we are not at a high risk,” said Victoria York, the principal at the middle school. “As a mother and as an administrator, I would never have allowed something to reach the point where anybody’s health was in peril.”

Until the matter is fixed, parents will have the option to transfer their children to another school in the district, officials said.

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Written for KVIA.com by News/Web Producer Joe Villasana