How is it that in the richest county in the state and the third richest county in the nation, rats can overrun a school and sewage leak from its ceilings?
Residents who think such problems are limited to stressed urban systems such as Baltimore City Public Schools can learn a lesson from Mount Hebron High School in Howard County.
The school administration denies reports from teachers and students that six rats fell from the ceiling in the cafeteria while they were eating lunch last week. School officials claim instead that a mama rat and three babies had been spotted outside and were on the exterminator?s hit list.
We?re glad pesticide was applied to the courtyard where the four were spotted. But it stretches credulity to say they are the only ones in the school?s vicinity. Rats are not loners. They do not stake a claim to one school and force other rats off their turf. And they certainly are not like the Epicurean Remy in “Ratatouille” who holds cleanliness in high esteem. They are dirty, dangerous, enterprising pests that carry diseases and sometimes bite people.
Rodent and other problems are no stranger to the school. Reports of mice and rats inside along with leaking sewage have existed at least since last year. Teachers said leaking wastewater hit students and teachers during exams last year. Reports school officials kept from parents reveal structural problems and potential issues with asbestos and lead in the water.
And 17-year-old Mount Hebron senior Carolyn Rosenvold told The Examiner she and her classmates have spotted rats and mice throughout all four years of high school.
Covering up the problem will not fix it. School officials need to come clean with parents and teachers about the problems facing Mount Hebron. That is the best way to set reasonable expectations for fixing the problems and to start to rebuild the trust between school officials and parents that so many false assurances eliminated.
Note to readers: Report safety and other problems at your children?s schools to us by e-mail. We will check reports with school officials and post online both the issue and the official response and/or plan to resolve it.
