Six more SCSD schools treated for bed bugs over the weekend

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Six more schools within the Syracuse City School District were found to have bed bugs and treated for them over the weekend, according to the district's Administrator for Communications Michael Henesey.

Henesey said the schools treated over the weekend were Clary Middle School, Expeditionary Learning Middle School, Grant Middle School, LeMoyne Elementary School, Porter Elementary School and Huntington K-8 School. The schools were treated by Salt City Pest Control with the same substance applied at Henninger High School, Henesey said. Each of the schools had a confirmed bed bug found at it, Henesey said.

Bed bugs were first found at Henninger last month on at least two separate occasions; another was found in the backpack of a Webster Elementary student last week.

Henesey said principals from each school treated over the weekend were contacting parents to update them on the situation.

A letter was also sent home to parents and the district sent out a robocall, Henesey said. Below is the contents of the letter:

Dear SCSD Families,

Over the course of the last two weeks the school district has been dealing with several reports of bed bugs found in our schools. I want to assure you that we are taking every situation very seriously and are following the guidelines provided to us by Salt City Pest Control (the pest control management company we are working with), the State Education Department, Onondaga County Health Department and Cornell Cooperative Extension to eradicate the bugs.

At this point when a single bug is found in a classroom the best course of action is to clean, vacuum, disinfect and in some cases use monitoring boards to make sure the bugs are gone. In the instances where there have been more than one bug found we have also had Salt City Pest Control apply a safe, organic treatment in the school. Our custodial staff has been thoroughly cleaning all the affected rooms as well as all rooms in proximity to them on a nightly basis. In addition, our staff as well as members of Salt City Pest Control are continually monitoring these rooms.

We know that these bugs do not originate in the school setting and that they are being “carried” into the school. We are asking all families to thoroughly inspect their child’s personal belongings and backpacks to ensure they are not “carrying” these bugs.

We have posted information on our website, www.syracusecityschools.com and have included information here for you as well. As a precaution you can place your child’s clothing in a dryer for 40 minutes (high heat kills bed bugs) or store clothing in a plastic bag prior to washing.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work through this. We will continue to update you throughout the process. Please call my office with any questions.

Sincerely,

Jaime Alicea

Superintendent