Bishop Elementary in Ypsilanti closed Thursday after a possible gas odor was noticed in the building, interrupting the day for a K–5 school of about 480 students.
The Whittaker Road school is part of Lincoln Consolidated School District. The district told CBS Detroit that DTE crews were called to investigate the odor in parts of the building. School officials said the district's other buildings stayed open.
A call, not a cause
The reporting stops at a possible odor and a utility call. It does not establish what produced the smell, or whether crews found a gas leak at Bishop. Closing the school is the cautious move. It is not a finding.
The disruption is also narrower than a districtwide shutdown. Families at Lincoln Consolidated's other buildings were not sent home. The students whose day changed are the ones assigned to Bishop.
Detroit is still arguing over a smell
The closure lands beside a separate odor shutdown at Cass Technical High School in Detroit's Midtown. ClickOnDetroit reported that Cass Tech stayed closed Wednesday, November 11, a second day after a gas-like smell forced students to evacuate Tuesday morning.
The accounts of that investigation do not match. ClickOnDetroit said a utility official reported that the team had thoroughly checked the building, ruled out a gas leak, and did not intend to investigate further. The same report said Detroit Public Schools Community District stated DTE was still investigating because the source of the smell had not been identified. CBS Detroit reported that utility crews arrived about 8 a.m. and, after a couple of hours, concluded there was no gas leak.
DPSCD said Cass Tech would likely reopen Thursday, though no final decision had been made as of Wednesday evening. A cleared leak and an investigation the district still describes as open are not the same update. Neither one explains Bishop.
What families know for now
For Ypsilanti, the practical picture is smaller and more immediate: Bishop is closed, DTE has been called, and the rest of Lincoln Consolidated stayed in session. Until the district or the utility says otherwise, the odor remains a possible smell under investigation, not a named leak.
