Parents say they are on edge after a bed bug was found inside a classroom at the local elementary school William H. Ross elementary in Margate.
One father, Michael Shafman, reports first hearing about the bedbug incident in a letter his daughter brought him from the principal. Shafman also had the following to say; “Who knows where it got tracked in from? Who knows where it could spread to? It’s just a concerning issue. You would find it to be concerning and weird because you never had anything like that happen. She’s been going here for two years and from what I heard in the past, it’s never been an issue.”.
According to reports by administrators as of the end of April some egg shells and a bed bug were discovered by the staff. The superintendent of the school, Dr. Theresa DeFranco, had the following to say about he incident; “What went through my mind was, ‘Be proactive. Get right on top of this. Let’s discuss this as a team and bring the proper players in.”.
Staying true to her word, school officials report that a pest control management company has been brought in on two occasions with no further reports of bed bugs. Specifically outlining the scenario the director of facilities for the school Curtis Woodrow explained “They came back today. We had a whole team of four to really get a detailed inspection of the areas. They found no evidence of active anything.” The principal of the school, John Dinicola, also added “We want to reiterate that it was one bug, in one place.”.
Most parents are worried most about where the bed bug came from as the common belief is that the school is the place of origin for the pest. At any rate the school will bring on a bed bug detecting dog in the coming days to further inspect and put parents minds at ease.