WATERTOWN — Parents remain unhappy with the Watertown City School District’s handling of a potential high school bed bug incident that was brought to light Monday. Parents also claim that the district was aware of the potential infestation long before the parents were notified.
In response to calls from parents wanting to know if bed bugs existed and if there was any cause for concern, the school district declined to confirm Monday whether bed bugs were present at the school. Instead, Superintendent Patricia B. LaBarr sent a notice detailing protocols for handling situations where bed bugs were discovered. Social media posts suggested the insects were in the high school’s auditorium, where some students are having lunch.
“They didn’t want to answer any questions,” said parent Angela M. Bennett. “I think that just by omitting it, that said everything we needed to know. I personally don’t want to send my son back until I’m sure everything is taken care of. It shouldn’t even have gotten to this point if they had actually followed their protocols. They talk so much online about following protocols, but is that true? Because here we are.”
Mrs. Bennett said her son Ashton, 15, texted her on Monday, telling her he and some of his fellow students had been sent down to the gym floor for lunch because there were bed bugs in the auditorium, where lunch with the Cafeteria is shared to maintain social distancing. He told his mother that he thought they were in the auditorium spraying something, leading them to believe the insects were starting to scatter looking for hiding spots. This prompted Mrs. Bennett to pick up her son and bring him home. She wasn’t alone, as many parents responded to the possible bed bugs on Monday by bringing their children home earlier.
Another statement was sent to parents Tuesday morning by the superintendent’s office, saying, “This situation involved a case at Watertown High School (there is no infestation) and our protocol was followed.” The protocol included a service by pest control on Monday evening and a thorough cleaning by the staff. Ms. LaBarr said the district is monitoring the situation and if additional action is warranted, the school will communicate them accordingly.
Another district parent, Rose M. Miller, said her 16-year-old son Ian told her last week that a girl was sent home with bed bugs.
“In my head I thought, ‘Well, if this was really a serious problem, the school would have contacted someone.’ But nobody ever came forward,” she said. “Then they came to find out they had taped off part of the auditorium yesterday, they had allegedly dragged the child out of class and her book bag was all wrapped in plastic and they were sending her home. But they still had the kids in the same room that this girl must have been in.”
With Tuesday’s news, Ms. Miller is still not satisfied with how the district has handled the matter. She called the school on Monday after Ian had returned home for the day and said the woman she spoke to was nice but would not confirm or deny any information. Ms Miller said she learned more about the situation through social media.
“It feels very unsanitary. You can close school for COVID and social-distance kids and have them eat in an auditorium instead of the cafeteria, but you can’t tell parents there’s a bug problem at school? She said. “If they’re willing to put everyone in danger, I feel it’s my right as his parents to protect him and keep him at home.”
Mrs Miller said she did not feel comfortable sending her son to school unless she was sure enough had been done to address the problem.
“I just think they have to do better. They are responsible for our children for more than half of the school day, five days a week, and I think more communication would be great for us parents,” she said. “If we had a problem we would call the school and let the school know, so I think they should do the same in return.”
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