Ring Elementary School will be closed on Thursday to allow district buildings and grounds staff to address a maintenance issue.

On Monday a pipe fixture below the school cafeteria broke, resulting in an unpleasant smell that has persisted.

“It was a drain the kids pour their milk down,” said Jamestown Public Schools Superintendent Bret Apthorpe. “The drain pipe broke and it leaked out and that was what the smell was.”

School officials were aware from the start of the problem that the issue was not any type of potentially hazardous spill such as natural gas or methane.

“The smell has gotten a lot better but it hasn’t fully dissipated. We want to ensure there is no smell in the air because it is distracting to kids and staff.”

Ring was already scheduled for a staff development day on Friday, so closing the school on Thursday will give maintenance crews a longer period of time to address the issue.

The broken pipe that initially caused the issue has been fixed, and now crews are looking at solutions to remove the odor.

“By closing tomorrow it will allow work crews unabated access to get it cleaned and get the smell taken care of,” Apthorpe said. “They are putting together those plans right now. They are putting together several different plans.”