Bed bug fears close Barberton High School for 2 days; no reports of infestations, says superintendent – Akron Beacon Journal

Barberton High School will close Wednesday and Thursday after a flurry of calls to the district about bed bugs.

Classes will be held remotely.

Jeffrey Ramnytz, superintendent of Barberton City Schools, said Tuesday the calls came after rumors about the nasty insects being present at the high school flared up on social media.

We have not had any reports of anybody having any infestations, he said.

The superintendent said some bed bugs were uncovered last week in a storage cabinet not accessible to students, and the bugs were eradicated.

But individuals aware of the discovery apparently spread the word on social media, leading concerned parents to contact the district.

We got a bunch of calls, Ramnytz said. People were calling Summit County Public Health. We wanted to ease peoples minds [and] in talking with the board, we decided we needed to get this thing taken care of.

Ramnytz said hes confident the bed bugs were exterminated last week, but the public outcry convinced him to take the wider action.

The whole room was done twice, and we hadnt heard anything, the superintendent said. This is being done as a precaution to ease peoples minds, and I understand completely.

In a post on the districts website and on social media, the district announced that exterminators would arrive at 9 a.m. Wednesday to inspect and exterminate all areas of the high school.

Ramnytz said the high school will shift to remote learning for the two days.

We are experts on remote, he said.

Still, the superintendent said, the focus of his district is to keep kids in classrooms and foster a return to normality.

I dont think they can take another 18 months of [uncertainty], he said.

Some students who chose the remote learning option in the 2020-2021 school year suffered academically and emotionally, with the separation from teachers and students having a negative effect, he said. Barberton offered both remote and in-class instruction last school year.

The superintendent said the district highly encourages the use of masks and more students have opted to wear them since school opened.

The bed bug issue, he said, keeps the district on its toes.

You throw this into the mix, and its not just a job, he said. Its an adventure.

Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.

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Bed bug fears close Barberton High School for 2 days; no reports of infestations, says superintendent - Akron Beacon Journal