‘Unusual, unexpected safety issue’ prompts Raytown school to start year virtually
An “unusual and unexpected safety issue” involving natural gas at Raytown South High School will cause students at the school and the Herndon Career Center to start the school year virtually next week, school officials said.
In a message sent to parents and guardians, school officials said the issue involved “natural gas in the parking lot” of the high school. The exact nature of the issue was not immediately clear. School officials said the first week for the two school locations would be conducted virtually, starting Wednesday.
In response to questions from The Star about the issue, a spokesperson for the district said, “We are still in the discovery phase of determining the answer to those questions. We’ve been working with the Department of Natural Resources and Spire. We’re hoping to have some answers very soon.”
Entrances to parking lots at the campus home to both school locations were blocked off Friday.
Isabel Lopez, a spokeswoman for DNR, described the issue as an “unknown gas problem.” The issue, which she said was reported to the agency on Tuesday, was discovered when someone heard an “odd sound” coming from a storm drain. Air in the area is safe to breathe, she said.
“It’s contained to a fairly small area, so at the moment it does not have a large impact,” she said.
School officials were working with an environmental firm to investigate and deal with the issue, Lopez said.
Spire spokesman John Mink said in a message to The Star that the utility was asked to help find the cause of the issue and said it was not believed to be related to Spire’s natural gas infrastructure.
“We’ll continue to help the Raytown School District determine a cause,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the city of Raytown said she did not have confirmed details about the issue Friday afternoon.
Students will need to pick up school-issued devices before the start of classes at Raytown South Middle School, 8401 E. 83rd St.
Pickups will be available from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday and 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Pickups will also be available from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Wednesday to Friday at the Raytown Schools Education and Conference Center, 10750 E. State Route 350.
“We understand that these changes may be an inconvenience, and we sincerely appreciate your flexibility and understanding during this time,” school officials said. “Our goal is to resolve this safety matter quickly while ensuring that teaching and learning can continue without disruption. Thank you for your commitment to our students and your support in navigating this unexpected situation.”
This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 1:05 PM.
