DURHAM, North Carolina (CNN) – Overheating or web cameras turning on accidentally are some of the problems you may experience with a laptop but what about bedbugs?
That is exactly what some students in Durham, North Carolina, experienced this week.
The school year also started with issues surrounding employee pay. This comes after school system employees held multiple protests last year over a pay dispute.
In an email from Riverside High School principal Gloria Woods-Weeks, she told families that bed bugs were discovered in student Chromebooks stored in the school’s media center over the summer.
The school is asking students to return the Chromebooks and encouraging families to inspect their homes.
In addition to the creepy crawlies, the school district has had air conditioning problems.
In a statement, Superintendent Anthony Lewis said one-third of Durham Public Schools buildings are operating beyond their life cycles.
Of 57 total school sites, one-fifth have known HVAC issues.
The school district has also had issues with teacher pay.
A statement from Lewis said, “It is my understanding that 55 employees were underpaid because of an oversight on our part that involved changing their status from unlicensed to licensed or awaiting review by the state.”
“This is not good for morale for Durham Public Schools employees,” said Mika Twietmeyer, President of the Durham Association of Educators.
Twietmeyer said she sees a connection between the pay issues and the infrastructure problems.
“The squeeze on public schools as a result of the lack of funding from the state level, and we celebrate a huge county commission budget for Durham Public Schools, but that’s only because they’re helping pick up the slack.”
Copyright 2024 WRAL via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.