McGee school in Berlin re-opens

Berlin, Conn. (WTNH) - A noxious odor forced McGee Middle School in Berlin to close their doors for several days, but more work still needs to be done to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Emergency crews were called to McGee three times last week. One teacher was hospitalized because of the fumes that apparently were stirred up by a construction crew working on the roof. But after days of air quality testing, school officials deemed the building safe.

Some parents are comfortable with letting their kids back in to school.

"I'm confident that they will do what they say and get the problem fixed and make sure our kids are safe," said Anthony Derito of Berlin.

Others - not so much.

"I am nervous about it, I'll be honest with you," said Joann Angelico-Stetson of Berlin.

But Joann says folks have been worried about the air quality in McGee for years.

"I can tell you the issue has been going on so long. I have a 23-year old daughter and a 20-year old son who went to this school and they say those issues were occurring back then," she said. "There are kids that are consistently getting sick and it's pretty frightening."

The town says they are starting a nearly $7 million renovation this summer that will address those problems.