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School district insists it doesn’t have a rodent infestation, but students say their videos prove it

Hours after Prince George’s County Schools stated there was 'no rodent infestation' at Parkdale High School, students reached out to WUSA9 with videos.

RIVERDALE, Md. — Hours after Prince George’s County Schools stated there was “no rodent infestation” at Parkdale High School, students reached out to WUSA9 with videos.

Several students and at least one teacher claimed mice are still a problem and they want something done about it.

The cell phone footage shows mice scurrying across classroom floors and climbing in and out of vents.

“My room has about six or seven mouse traps in it,” Monica Brokenborough told WUSA9 on Wednesday.

WUSA9 was first to report about what appeared to be failing conditions at Parkdale High.

RELATED: Teacher claims neglected bathrooms equivalent to a ‘jail cell’

The report uncovered crumbling ceiling tiles, spots in a classroom with duct tape over alleged mouse holes, and doors missing from students’ bathroom stalls.

“The students have brought to my attention that a lot of their bathrooms actually resemble something that’s kind of comparable to a jail cell,” Bokenborough explained.

Prince George’s County Schools sent a letter home to parents after WUSA9’s report aired on Monday detailing work orders for the needed repairs were filed months ago but there have been delays.

Despite pictures of mouse traps, a spokesperson confirmed there was “no rodent infestation” at the school.

RELATED: School responds with letter to parents after teacher claims neglected bathrooms equivalent to a ‘jail cell’

Students disagreed, sounded off on Twitter, and sent videos into the WUSA9 newsroom.

The school district noted that while its environmental teams do not believe there is a rodent infestation, they are aware mice are present in the school.

WUSA9 reached out to the county health department and discovered an inspection from September this school year found mouse droppings in three cafeteria storage rooms and live roaches in the kitchen.

Those problems were fixed in October, and the latest inspection in February showed the health department found no evidence of mice in the cafeteria.

However, it is important to note, the cafeteria is the only part of the school health inspectors examine.                   

A PGPCS spokesperson issued the following statement in response to the newly-surfaced mice videos:

“Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) takes very seriously the student and staff concerns about the presence of mice at Parkdale High School. Any facility under our care should be clean and free of anything that takes away from a positive learning atmosphere. Anything less is unacceptable. Despite regular rodent treatments throughout the school year, a small number of mice have been found and our environmental teams have been to the school two times this week to address these concerns and will return until the issue is resolved. We will continue to monitor the issue and welcome any feedback from students and staff to ensure we are being responsive to their issues in a timely manner.”

WUSA9 is committed to staying on top of this story and holding the school district accountable.

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