CHARLOTTE, NC.. -- A shocking health inspection at one Charlotte-Mecklenburg school revealed some disturbing details that are leaving parents questioning if students' health is being put at risk.
While checking the Mecklenburg County Health Department scores for restaurants, a surprising report from West Mecklenburg High School showed a number of disturbing findings. An inspector noted the findings in a detailed two-page report.
An inspector once told NBC Charlotte that CMS does a good job with their food services. But this latest report of West Meck painted a not-so-nice picture. And although CMS is pouring millions into schools, West Meck appears to be lacking in some areas, especially when it comes to cleanliness.
A girl's toilet out of order, dirty and damaged sinks in some of the classrooms, holes in the walls near the piping in one building and several ceiling tiles in the hallways, as well as classrooms and portable units having microbial growth.
The school was told to replace them, don’t just clean them.
But perhaps more serious than dirty and in disrepair were the roaches found in the culinary classroom. There were mouse droppings throughout their 400 building and in the bleacher area of the gym. The inspector also saw ant and roach sprays in classrooms and white powder along the floors: it's a big no-no to have poisons around kids.
The news of what was found wasn't well received in the school's neighborhood.
"You have students in there and kids in there. It's terrible, it's very terrible news," said one man.
Another parent was frank with her comments.
"That's bad," she said. "You've got roaches, there's probably mold and mildew in there, too."
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Media Relations Department released the following statement to NBC Charlotte:
We do not have someone available for an interview but below is a response regarding the report.CMS Building Services technicians enter work requests for each particular notation on the report. In this case, six separate sub-departments will respond to the various items noted depending on their area of expertise:
Building Services/Maintenance staff will make the corrections. All items on health inspections are classified as urgent in the CMS work order request process and are treated accordingly. Once they have completed each work order pertaining to the West Mecklenburg High health inspection, they will request a follow-up inspection.
- Ceiling Tiles with microbial growth – Environmental Health & Safety
- Roof leaks – Roofing
- Damaged floor tiles – Carpentry
- Roaches/mice droppings – Pest Control
- Teacher spraying rooms for bugs – Advise school administration of refraining from this practice and to contact Pest Control.
To read the whole report on the school, click this link.