Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

The regular school year may be over for many of our kids, but there are some that must attend summer school. Wherever a child attends summer school, the conditions must be the same in the classrooms and elsewhere on the campus. That includes the cafeteria area. The Monroe Dispatch has learned through sources that there appear to be alleged serious health concerns at Barkdull Faulk Elementary School in the school's cafeteria. Sources say that a recent inspection by the Louisiana Department of Health at the school revealed that there are serious problems dealing with rodents. The purpose of the inspection was that there was a complaint of rats' presence in the school cafeteria. The inspection form also noted there was "follow-up", which suggests that another inspection had occurred previously. There were numerous violations cited that highlighted just how serious the problem is at Barkdull Faulk, that according to the form, had to be corrected immediately. Under the "Violations Description" heading, the reason given for the inspection was, "rodents are present in the establishment". In the report, there were descriptions of "droppings" on top of counters, the dishwashing machine, dry storage, on top of boxes of food. The report further described that some food had been eaten into, oven mittens chewed up, and boxes chewed into on top of large bulk bins containing food. The mouse droppings "were not old", according to the report, despite the fact that the kitchen staff "were doing a good job" cleaning the area, they did an effective job that was noticed per visit. The report also noted that there were "big openings" leading into the kitchen that allow direct passage of rodents into the kitchen.