Attempting to wipe out a rodent problem that threatens students’ health, Chicago Public Schools officials have ordered a “top-to-bottom scouring” of the district’s 600 schools.
The schools will be cleaned 100 at a time beginning Monday, starting with the ones that have had problems in the past or that are in old buildings.
From ceilings to storage areas, and basements to classrooms, no area will be left unclean, according to schools chief Arne Duncan. While food preparation areas are being cleaned, students will receive cold breakfasts and lunches from outside vendors instead of hot meals.
The cleanup effort is expected to take eight to 12 weeks at a cost of $2 million to $4 million, Duncan said.
In the last several months, food operations were suspended at 13 schools because city inspectors from Mayor Daley’s Dumpster Task Force found droppings from mice and, in some cases, rats in school kitchens, classrooms, boiler rooms and even in ceiling tiles.
Duncan stressed during a news conference that there has been no evidence of food contamination at any of the schools.
He said principals have the ultimate responsibility for keeping a school clean and safe, but engineers, custodians, kitchen staff and teachers must be held accountable too.
“All hands will be on deck,” said Sean Murphy, the district’s operations chief.
The cleanup is meant to allow all schools to start over with a “clean slate.” If problems persist, disciplinary actions may be taken against school officials and may include suspensions and firings, Duncan said.
Even though keeping schools free of rodents is a challenge, “there is absolutely no excuse for poor maintenance,” he said. “I am putting every school-based employee on notice today: If you can’t keep your schools clean, we’ll find someone else who can.”
As school staff members and, in some cases, outside custodial staff are doing the cleaning, they also will be receiving training on sanitation techniques and problem recognition.
Two city departments are now involved in the inspections: the Health Department, which conducts regular inspections at the schools, and Streets and Sanitation, which responds to rodent complaints through the Dumpster Task Force.
The recent rash of problems began in December with a rodent sighting in the Jewel parking lot near Lane Tech High School, said Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez. A trail of “rodent activity” led inspectors to the school and to more evidence of rodents. The cafeteria, which serves the largest number of students in the city, was then closed.
“Rodents are part of the urban landscape,” Sanchez said. “They’re here. Our responsibility is to control them. We have to make sure we don’t have to compete with them.”
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Edited by Patrick Olsen (polsen@tribune.com) and alBerto Trevino (atrevino@tribune.com)
