Infestation at Loudoun County school greets students for first day of classes

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — Students weren’t the only thing that swarmed in a Loudoun County public school for the start of a new school year.

The principal at Briar Woods High School sent a letter to families on Wednesday, the day before classes started, informing them that the school was working to resolve a pest infestation in the cafeteria/kitchen area. School officials did not specify what kind of pests.

Principal Sheila Alzate assured families that staff and contractors are working to ensure a safe and healthy facility. As crews work to continue cleaning, the school plans to have brown bag breakfast and lunches prepared off-site at another school and transported to Briar Woods on Thursday.

Additional updates are expected to go out if the school plans to extend the bagged meals through Friday.

See the full statement below:

Dear Briar Woods Families,

I am very excited to see your students tomorrow and kick off another amazing year! I do want to let you know about a change in school meals for tomorrow. We are currently addressing a pest infestation focused in the cafeteria/kitchen area. Staff and outside contractors have been hard at work ensuring your students have a safe and healthy environment at school.

To allow staff the opportunity to continue cleaning and mitigation efforts, brown bag breakfast and lunch will be prepared off-site at another school and transported to Briar Woods for distribution to students. Staff will continue to assess the situation and determine if the same process will be needed for Friday. I will keep you advised as additional information becomes available, and feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

A spokesperson for the school division said the situation is under control and expected to cause minimal disruption to the school day.