Williamsport High closed after asbestos release; district outlines multi‑stage cleanup and interim student arrangements

Williamsport High School remained closed weeks after an asbestos release, Washington County Public Schools officials told the Board of Education on Sept. 22, and the district outlined a multi‑phase cleanup plan while continuing in‑person support at off‑site community hubs.

District officials said they have removed asbestos‑containing material from the building, set up sealed decontamination chambers for cleaning school property and are performing laboratory wipe and air testing before returning items and reopening classrooms. The superintendent’s office also paused a recently released survey about temporary relocation options and said it will consult Williamsport staff and community members before seeking broader feedback.

The remediation process follows an incident this summer that left the 153,000‑square‑foot school closed. “We did not hit the mark there,” Dr. Savine, the district superintendent, said in presenting the update, acknowledging the district’s handling of communications and promising to “work to do better.” District facilities staff said the cleanup follows guidance from a certified industrial hygienist retained by the district.

The facilities presentation described five stages of cleaning: directed air stream, HEPA vacuuming, wet wiping, receiving/inspection and quality‑assurance testing. Officials said ceiling tiles—classified as nonporous for this work—must be replaced rather than cleaned. The district reported about 30 people have worked on the site at times; five tractor‑trailer loads of cleaned materials were already removed for off‑site storage. Officials said some priority items needed for athletics, fine arts and special education were removed and cleaned first so students could resume extracurricular activities as possible.

Scott Knowl, principal of Williamsport High School, said the school is running an A/B schedule taught via Google Meet, with a daily built‑in enrichment and support block that the school uses for tutoring, clubs, athletics and performing arts. He said the school is also operating community hubs—local partner sites where students can work with staff in person—and that the district has coordinated material pick‑ups and student events to maintain engagement: “We wanna be Wildcats together,” Knowl said of students and staff.

Facilities staff said there currently are no operational air handlers or boilers at the school because several construction and replacement projects were paused when the contamination was discovered. That work must be finished before the building can return to service.

Board and district leaders described next steps: continue staged decontamination and certified testing; restore mechanical systems and ceilings; return packed classroom items once laboratory wipe and air samples show no asbestos fibers; and give teachers time to reset rooms before reopening. The superintendent’s team said it will meet with Williamsport staff this week and then reissue the survey to collect staff, student and parent feedback over a short window before presenting results to the board at a scheduled work session.

District officials said no reopening date has been set and declined to give a firm timeline, saying the schedule depends on the results of industrial‑hygienist testing and completion of construction work. In the meantime, the district is prioritizing student access to in‑person supports at community hubs and continuing extracurricular activities when safely possible.