By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The Department of Education sent inspectors to P.S. 87 to check out a bed bug finding after parents took matters into their own hands and tried to bring their own exterminators to the school.
Parents received a letter last week informing them that a single dead bed bug had been found in the school's gym, and that it would take school officials up to two weeks to send an exterminator, parents said.
"Our principal told us that DOE had told them it was going to take a week and a half or two weeks for an exterminator to come to the school," Rachel Laiserin, co-president of the P.S. 87 Parents' Association said. "That seemed concerning to parents."
Frustrated by the delay, Laiserin said parents had begun calling private exterminators for estimates for treating the school. The treatment, she said, would have been paid for with money the school had previously raised.
But that likely won't be necessary, relieved parents said Thursday.
Following parents' complaints, the DOE reportedly sent inspectors to P.S. 87 Wednesday night.
According to a letter circulating on a parents' online listserv, DOE inspectors spoke with administrators and inspected the school's gym, offices near the gym, the library and all fifth grade classrooms.
Custodians were later told that all of the rooms were clear of bed bugs, the circulating letter read.
The Department of Education did not return repeated calls for comment. P.S. 87 is closed for Veterans Day.
According to instructions posted on the department's website, before the DOE responds to a bed bug report, schools must physically capture a bug using gauze or tape. Officials must then place the bug in a plastic bag and mail it via U.S. post to a DOE address in in Long Island City to be tested.
With 1,000 kids coming in and out of the school every day, Laiserin said that many parents had been stressed by the wait.
"There’s a lot of fear that comes with it," she said.
Another parent, who asked that his name not be used, described the DOE's response as "alarming."
"It could be dealt with a single phone call," he said.
Still, Fifth Grade Parent Paul Garrity complimented the school on its handling of the scare.
"While there is certainly some concern being expressed, our parents know that the PS 87 administration is doing everything they can to deal with the issue," he said in an e-mail.
But Marcy Drogin, who has a child in kindergarten at the school, said she's frustrated the DOE didn't do more.
"I think there's a great concern among parents that the whole school be inspected," she said.
In addition to contacting private companies, parents had also considered giving children at the school large plastic bags to store their coats, backpacks and other belongings, according to a letter sent out to families this week from P.S. 87's parent coordinator.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer recently slammed the DOE for the way it handles bed bugs, which have become a growing problem at city schools.
"Forcing principals to become CSI inspectors and bag their bed bugs — then send them via snail mail for testing — makes about as much sense as fighting a building fire with a garden hose," Stringer said in a statement.
"When it comes to protecting the physical well-being of our students, eradicating bed bugs should be the environmental equivalent of war," he said. "Instead, City Hall is making it harder, not easier, for schools and principals to fight this growing menace."
The city has recently slashed the number of bed bug inspectors and pest control aides on staff due to budget cuts.
