Mystery is not a common occurrence at Homestead, but it has certainly found some territory over the past few weeks when a strange odor presented itself in the 900 wing, surprising and concerning both students and staff with its elusive origin and, as of currently, showing no signs of a timely departure. While the school has made numerous careful attempts to identify and eliminate the source of this odor, one thing remains certain; it’s putting up an impressive fight.

The stench first reared its ugly head in late September of 2024, although it was quite tame at its advent. After that, its potency increased exponentially, forcing the school into action. The school’s primary concern was making sure that the odor was not hazardous to anybody exposed to it, which they quickly and extensively tested.

“While we don’t know what it is, it’s not one of the major contributors that’s something you want to be concerned about, like natural gas or things like that. So while we don’t know what it is, we have a high level of confidence it’s just an odor at this point,” Kyle Thompson, director of maintenance and operations for the Mequon Thiensville school district buildings and grounds department, said.

Thompson is responsible for managing the state of Homestead’s infrastructure and safety, and therefore played an important role in identifying this odor. Within Thompson’s responsibilities was organizing a plan to rid the smell from the school, of which multiple were made.

When describing these plans, Thompson said, “It’s a multi-step process, so we have to do several different things. Each step we take helps us find what the problem really is, and while it’s a complicated answer, when you think about a smell in an area, the first thing you think about is what’s common.”

In an email to members of the Homestead staff on Oct. 14, Thompson described the initial investigation of the 900 wing, mentioning that lockers, air vents and classrooms were all thoroughly searched, which resulted in no new findings. However, the investigators later found a failed sump pump, a device used to prevent flooding, in a mechanical tunnel system under room 903, accompanied by a small pool of water. As Thompson said in this email, “After the water was removed, the odor briefly subsided but returned.”

As Thompson noted, this unfortunately did not mark the end of this problem. Following the return of the odor, an environmental management consultant was introduced for additional assistance, the plumbing system was checked for a leak, and a negative air pressure system was utilized, which isolated the environments of classes within the 900 wing. These developments yielded no results.

Since these experiments, other tests such as air quality monitoring and smoke tests have been employed, but have also uncovereed no solution. While air pollution and plumbing leaks are likely not the source, a very large and very petty skunk may still be on the table.

At the time of this article, there has still been no identified source for the odor. Despite these disappointing findings, Thompson and the rest of the department of buildings and grounds remain hopeful and steadfast.

“Once we know what it is, we’ll get it fixed,” Thompson said.

However, it is important to acknowledge not only how this issue is being addressed, but also the effects it has had. Students and teachers without classes in the 900 wing may be entirely unaware of the problem, but due to its disruptive nature, those having to deal with the odor are far from oblivious.

Trefor Jones, a social studies educator located within the 900 wing, was open with his concerns on the matter.

“I was concerned mainly because I had some students complaining about headaches or feeling lightheaded. I have asthma so my breathing seems worse here than it does when I’m running,” Jones said.

It is important to note that any headaches or lightheadedness were most likely not caused by the odor as it is-from all findings-non-toxic, but neither students nor teachers were informed of this for some time, so it is only natural for suspicions and worries to arise.

Apart from the health concerns, the odor has also presented a new challenge for student concentration. Multiple teachers, including Jones, have faced difficulties maintaining the usual classroom routine, the mystery smell even driving them out of the classroom in some cases.

“You have students that don’t want to work outside of class if we have collaborative groups so it’s difficult, especially when you have larger class sizes and a lot of your activities are collaborative,” Jones said in regards to the improvised classroom experience.

It doesn’t help that only a few weeks ago an even more mysterious box was suddenly constructed to help manage this stench, positioned at the end of the 900 wing, somewhat obviously raising more questions than previously seen.

As the general population seems to know little about the matter, Jay Hall, a sophomore with classes located within the 900 wing, shared both his knowledge and perspective of the odor.

“I’ve heard it’s a gas leak or black mold, and it’s coming from the vents, so I assume it’s mildew or something,” Hall said.

Neither of these ideas are likely true, but due to the lack of public notice about the odor, students struggled to find reliable information for it.

The most important thing to gather is that the odour poses no threat to anyone in the school, at least so far. Through a long series of extensive research and experimentation, the department of buildings and grounds have found zero evidence of toxicity, combustibility, or any other safety hazards that might harm students.