Rodents Invade Mollison Elementary School On South Side
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mollison Elementary School has been forced to stop serving hot lunches because of a rodent problem, and efforts to clean the school have failed.
In a letter sent to parents Monday night, Chicago Public Schools promised the pest control vendor will be on site daily.
Parents are saying their students were put to work after the city's commitment to get rid of the rodents at the Bronzeville building apparently fell short.
Danielle Lester and Yolanda Redman serve as local school council leaders. They toured the building Monday after administrators said it was "deep cleaned" over Thanksgiving break. Redman said she saw mice droppings inside several closets and classrooms.
The city inspector was there, as well, and issued Mollison a failing grade, which prohibits the school from serving hot lunches until further notice.
"This might be the only hot meal that they get. So, I think that's really bad," Redman said.
The rodent issue most recently came to light after the Chicago Teachers Union posted a photo of a critter from a Mollison staff member to a blog. While that staff member asked to remain anonymous, a former Mollison teacher said she has seen "a rodent or two" on the school's grounds.
Brandy Franklin added that the sightings, and stories, were plentiful. Furthermore, she supports Gena Miller's Change petition asking for answers about the insufficient clean-up.
"As a taxpayer, I want to know why didn't it happen?" Miller said.
Ald. Pat Dowell, who represents the Bronzeville area, told CBS 2 she believes CPS dropped the ball. As of right now, students will not be relocated because of this issue.
Late Tuesday evening, CPS told CBS 2's Lauren Victory "students are not permitted to assist with facility maintenance, and we have let the school know that this is unacceptable and cannot happen again."
The next health inspection is scheduled for Thursday.
