Gas leak reported at Lakeland Junior High

RATHDRUM - Lakeland Joint School District officials on Thursday said a gas leak at Lakeland Junior High persisted for weeks and some students complained of headaches before the line was capped.

"The school says it was going on for a number of weeks, but no work order was sent until May 20," Tom Taggart, the district's finance director, wrote in an email to The Press. "Maintenance staff responded on May 20, 21, (Wednesday and Thursday). These visits included testing for gas."

Taggart said the gas smell was reported by a teacher on May 20 when the work order was prepared.

"The gas to the furnace has been capped," he said. "Once school is out, it will be repaired."

Taggart said no one was ever evacuated, but a class was moved to a different classroom multiple times.

"At no time was there any risk to students or staff," he said, adding that the matter involved a new heater in a classroom.

A mother, who didn't want to disclose her name for fear of retaliation against her daughter, said she wasn't aware of the gas leak until Thursday. She said multiple students, including her child, complained of headaches in recent days.

In an email to Taggart, Todd Spear, the school's principal, said he was not aware of any students who went home early as a result of the smell. The teacher told Spear that some students reported headaches in recent days along with the smell and one parent called her on Thursday to ask about it.