Clark Elementary School clears reinspection after mouse infestation
A Fayette County elementary school is back in compliance days after state inspectors found mouse droppings throughout the building.
State inspectors from the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Bureau cleared R.W. Clark Elementary School Tuesday after reinspecting the building, said Laurel Highlands School District Superintendent Jesse Wallace.
Inspectors had found “numerous” droppings throughout the building, according to an inspection report. Inside the kitchen they found fresh droppings by the food units and storage areas, where mice had gotten into stores of oatmeal and granola.
The district received several recommendations from the state Friday, and did remediation work over the weekend, finishing most of it by Sunday night, Wallace said.
With cooler weather potentially inducing animals to come inside, workers sealed any breaches to the exterior of the building where they might enter, Wallace said.
They also made sure perishable foods were stored in plastic containers, Wallace said.
“We’re making sure that we have everything elevated further up than probably what we had it in the past to ensure that there’s nothing that can crawl up into the bins or into packaging,” he said.
New cleaning practices are also being used, and non-bait traps were placed around the perimeter of the building to determine where the hot spots are, Wallace said.
Because work had substantially been finished by the time school resumed, there was no disruption to lunch or class schedules, Wallace said.
Tuesday’s inspection will have a followup at a randomly chosen time.
“They don’t tell you when, but we’re ready to go for whatever that is,” Wallace said.