Francis Howell North is under active investigation after teachers and students reported a persistent, unpleasant odor in parts of the building that district and contractor representatives say they have not yet been able to identify.

The smell, first reported to district leaders months earlier, prompted the district and its construction partner SM Wilson to install continuous air monitors, add one-way rooftop vent valves, run smoke tests through plumbing vents and commission third-party reports. Union leaders and school staff urged the board to move summer school from the building if the issue cannot be eliminated quickly.

The complaint matters because staff and union leaders told the board the odor has caused headaches, breathing problems and classroom disruptions, and the district must ensure student and staff safety while work continues. District officials say monitoring so far shows contaminant levels below regulatory and recommended thresholds, but engineers of record must still respond to a consultant report before a definitive fix is identified.

Public comments and union requests

Francine Hill, president of the Francis Howell Education Association, told the board that "Teachers and students are still dealing with the toxic odor despite numerous claims of resolution. We ask the district give relocating summer school serious consideration if for no other reason than to complete the repairs that they already know will be required." Heidi Nixon, vice president of FIESPA, said multiple classrooms were cleared "and multiple staff members complained of headaches and breathing issues" and asked the board to "direct administration to move summer school to another location in the district."

What the district and contractors have done

SM Wilson and district facilities staff said they followed a staged investigation after retaining Case Engineering as a consultant. Actions completed so far include:
- Installation (April 25) of continuous indoor-air monitors at multiple locations in the building, selected to cover areas with the highest frequency of odor reports.
- Installation of one‑way air‑vent valves on rooftop plumbing vents intended to prevent odors from exhausting onto roof surfaces and being drawn back into air handlers.
- Smoke testing of the plumbing stack and inspection of vents and floor drains to detect open or broken plumbing connections.
- Coordination with the City of St. Peters and its public‑health and public‑works staff to review nearby sewer mains and system plans.

Kevin Roberts, environmental operations manager for Pension LLC, the firm running the monitors, said the devices are calibrated and collecting data every second. "Based on these constituents that we're monitoring, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, our oxygen percentage, lower explosive limit, and VOCs, it appears we're all in compliance with regulatory and recommended levels," Roberts said. He noted some short-lived VOC rises tied to classroom activity (deodorant, markers) but said no alarm thresholds have been triggered.

Limits of the monitoring and open questions

District and consultant representatives cautioned that the monitors are targeted to the places with the most consistent reports and that many gases have odor thresholds far below regulatory exposure limits. Roberts said some compounds can be smelled by people at concentrations well below the monitors' detection capability. SM Wilson noted that the monitors and the smoke tests have not yet produced a single, clear source that would explain intermittent smells experienced by staff.

SM Wilson told the board the next major step depends on a formal written response from the project engineer of record (McClure Engineering) to Case Engineering's report. The engineer of record will review the consultant findings and advise on targeted remediation steps; district officials said they are pressing for that response and daily updates.

District response and near-term decisions

Facilities director Saloon Stutzer summarized the ongoing site work and the district's coordination with contractors and health authorities. Stutzer and SM Wilson said they would add another monitor to the east side of the building after recent odor reports there.

Board members, staff and union leaders discussed contingency planning for summer programs. FIESPA and FHEA asked the board to direct administration to relocate summer school if the problem cannot be resolved; district officials said they expect to make a decision about summer‑school location within about a week because of scheduling and transportation logistics.

What remains unresolved

- The district and SM Wilson continue to await a formal written response and recommended corrective actions from McClure Engineering, the project's engineer of record, responding to the Case Engineering consultant report.
- The monitoring so far has not recorded gas concentrations that exceed OSHA or other recommended exposure limits, but staff report intermittent odors and health symptoms that have not been tied to a single, measurable source.
- District leaders said additional sampling (including biological or fungal testing and targeted air sampling collected at the time of odor events) could be pursued if the engineer of record recommends it.

The board and district officials said they will keep the community updated. The facilities team said it will continue day‑to‑day investigation work, add monitoring where needed and present formal recommendations once the engineer of record responds to the consultant report.

Ending

For now, the investigation continues: monitoring runs 24/7, short‑term mitigation steps (vent valves, smoke tests) are complete, and the next major milestone is a written engineering response that district leaders have requested. If the odor persists, the board may direct administration to relocate summer instruction to another district facility while remediation continues.