Parents irked about bed bug problem at Savoy Elementary School in DC

Some parents at Savoy Elementary School in Southeast D.C. are fuming over a bed bug and rodent problem at their children's school.

The school told FOX 5 that they sent a letter home with students saying professionals were hired to get rid of the pests. But some parents told us that the problem is still persisting.

On Tuesday, one parent wrote to us and said:

"This is not how you should notify parents of rats and bed bugs. I had to see it on the news. Then, the school doesn't notify the parents until 4 days later."

The school district said they are working on the problem, but for some parents, that is not enough. Aaron Doughty, another Savoy Elementary parent, said he plans to keep his kids out of school until the problem is resolved.

"They won't be back because they have several bites on them and I'm very concerned about the situation," he said. "I will not be sending them to school."

Doughty added, "I made a few calls and once I hear something back about them properly taking care of the situation, then I will consider sending them back, but I have to protect them."

Doughty had photos showing what he said are bed bug bites on his 9- and 10-year-old daughters. He said the bed bug bites started around Christmas and have only gotten worse.

He said the school nurse told him the school was infested with bed bugs months ago, but it was only this past Friday that D.C. Public Schools sent home a letter to parents describing what the school district called an increase of unwanted pests in the building.

Doughty was not satisfied with the correspondence.

The school district said in December, the school was placed on a 3-day-a-week extermination schedule. D.C. Public Schools released a statement last week saying:

"We were made aware of an incident of bed bugs at Savoy Elementary School, and we hired professional cleaning contractors to thoroughly clean the school, developed an ongoing cleaning plan for the building, and ordered new nap mats with two-foot risers. We are working with the school and the community to be vigilant in keeping unwanted pests from entering the building."