Board seeks clarity after renewed cockroach sightings at Hartford Sumner; superintendent cites DOE nursing guidance

Board members pressed staff for details after renewed cockroach sightings at Hartford Sumner Elementary.

Superintendent Deb reported that Modern Pest returned to the building for additional treatment and that the company applied gel bait in locations out of reach of students and staff; Deb said the treatments would continue and that the school nurse is monitoring affected students. “They put gel bait around, and they put it in places where kids can't get at it... It's odorless,” Deb said, describing the contractor’s approach.

Board members asked whether a local or state health officer had been consulted and whether any statute permits excluding children from school for pests. One board member referenced Title 20‑A §6356 (immunization statute) and Title 22 §806 (exclusion from school for communicable disease or public‑health threat) and asked if that guidance applied. Deb said her interpretation — confirmed with the state DOE nursing staff — was that infestations such as lice, bedbugs or cockroaches do not usually meet the statutory threshold for exclusion; she offered to check further with legal counsel and the DOE nurse.

The board asked staff to clarify the source of suspected infestation (whether it originated off campus) and to follow up with the named health inspector and the DOE nurse for written guidance to the board. Members asked for transparency about the contractor used and for confirmation of the planned full‑building treatment when students are not in the building.