Fill in the blank (_) in the following sentence from the following choices.
Sentence: The scandal started at the school and spread to the town, so the _ was the source of their problems.

Choice 1: The scandal started at the school and spread to the town, so the school was the source of their problems.
Choice 2: The scandal started at the school and spread to the town, so the town was the source of their problems.
Which of the choices is correct? Respond with only "1" or "2" and no additional text.
1
1.