The Hartford magnet school where a 13-year-old student overdosed on fentanyl last week will remain closed Tuesday, as school and public health officials try to make sure there are no traces of the dangerous painkiller left behind.
The 7th grader, a boy, was pronounced dead over the weekend after collapsing last Thursday in the gymnasium at the Sport and Medical Sciences Academy. Two other students were hospitalized, then released by Thursday night.
Hartford police believe the boy who died had brought the drug to school. It's unclear how he obtained it. 40 bags of fentanyl were found between two classrooms and the gym, in amounts typical of street-level sales.
In a letter to parents, Hartford Public Schools officials explained ongoing decontamination and testing procedures. Areas where fentanyl was discovered were scrubbed, and air filters were replaced. Wipe samples were taken and delivered to a state-certified lab in New Jersey.
A public schools spokesman says test results that came back late Monday afternoon were "slightly over the limit," so more testing was scheduled and school for Tuesday was canceled.
School officials met with parents Monday night. The meeting was to include a review of support services being offered to students and a session on substance awareness and prevention.
Meanwhile, Hartford officials are working on ways to prevent similar tragedies, including the possible expansion of access to Narcan, a drug which can save the lives of those overdosing on opioids like fentanyl. Mayor Luke Bronin says, "The prevalence and the availability of this drug (fentanyl) that is a poison and that is incredibly deadly demands that we look beyond just our first responders and ask where else we can do that."
