Elementary school in Montclair, New Jersey taking steps to address infestation of mice
MONTCLAIR, New Jersey (WABC) -- Officials at one school in Essex County, New Jersey have a mouse problem on their hands.
The infestation of mice at the Watchung School is so bad, at least one student found mice droppings in their tote bag, and other bags have been chewed up by the rodents, but school officials are taking steps to clear them out.
This all came to the attention of parents a few weeks ago.
Eyewitness News talked to a couple of parents who say their children told them about the mice, and they had to sound the alarm bells to get some action.
The administration says the infestation is being addressed, but most people are aware of the problem and are worried that their elementary school children could be impacted by the mouse droppings which have been spotted throughout the school.
Some employees say the problem is particularly bad on the second floor.
One fifth grader even told Eyewitness News that some of the kids are feeding the mice which only adds to the problem.
The rodents have been chewing through some bags belonging to kids, and according to one parent, mouse feces has been found in books and papers.
Kim, the parent of a fourth grader, says she reached out to local officials to make sure they were aware of the problem.
"I'm very upset, obviously I talked to somebody at the health department yesterday and they said that they are working on cleaning, they can't use the regular protocols to get rid of the infestation," Kim said. "They told me it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better, unfortunately."
The superintendent sent out a note to parents to assure them the infestation is being addressed.
The mayor, who is a doctor, expressed her concern, but also said he believes the clean-up efforts will ease the problem.
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