Fleas Invade East Bay Elementary School: Report

NEWARK, CA — Parents at Kennedy Elementary School in Newark, frustrated with the school's ongoing flea infestation, are demanding action.

Parents told NBC News that their children are routinely bitten by fleas while at the school. One parent is even keeping track of the number of bites in an online platform.

"Right now, it's me collecting data and seeing that data and seeing people still getting bit," Laura Patrick said to NBC News. "It's hard to know [if it's] actually getting better."

On the Facebook “Parents of NUSD (CA)” public group page, a parent detailed consecutive weeks of her daughter coming home with flea bites.

In the post, titled “Flea Infestation Concern,” she shared that her daughter has been bitten over 30 times at the school.

“I’m at a loss for what to do,” she wrote. “She is literally being eaten alive by fleas while trying to learn.”

According to the Facebook post, 120 parents of Kennedy Elementary School students signed a call-to-action letter about the issue and gave it to Newark Unified School District board members and NUSD Superintendent Tracey Vackar.

The district claims it has taken measures to address the fleas on campus, including inspections, treatments and installing monitoring devices, as NBC News reported.

Parents insist that the flea issue persists.

“It feels like our Kennedy community is being told you are SOL and the district doesn’t care that tons of children continue to be bit,” wrote a parent in her Facebook post. “All it takes is one child developing a disease or becoming extremely ill. To say the Kennedy community is deeply disappointed would be an understatement.”

She reported that no accommodations had been offered to children and staff being bitten by the fleas.

“Parents are left in the difficult position of deciding whether to continue sending their children to school under these conditions, to keep them home, or to even consider requesting a school transfer,” she added.