Principals of mouse-infested schools in regional Western Australia are implementing COVID-era hygiene measures in classrooms, as damage and decay from the vermin takes a growing toll on school leaders.
Warning: This story contains images of dead animals some readers may find distressing
Communities in WA’s Midwest and Wheatbelt are battling a months-long mouse plague that has devastated farmers and local residents.
Local schools have been particularly hard hit, with the incorrect deployment of toxic baits forcing the closure of Morawa College of Agriculture.
The Education Department this week stood up a taskforce to help schools respond to mouse plague challenges, but principals are often left to manage additional workloads, including departmental cleaning and hygiene suggestions.
Some regional schools have acquired fridges from the local community to create a safe space for student lunches. (Supplied)
This comes after weeks of frustration for school leaders, who have told the ABC the intensive cleaning services are difficult or impossible to find in regional communities.
Regional Principals Association president Jonathon Arnott said he was concerned for the welfare of local principals.
While happy with the ideas put forward by the department, he said enacting them would be difficult.
“I am genuinely concerned about the isolation of our principals, these communications come out in an email form and in a letter form, but you’re still there by yourself having to make these decisions that are going to impact your school community,” Mr Arnott said.
Rodents chewed through the thick plastic of one school’s bin. (Supplied)
“It’s definitely taking its toll, I know the principals are doing their best to put on a good front for their staff, but the staff themselves are quite drained.“
COVID-style management
Practical management within schools is running along pandemic-era lines; air purifiers have been switched back on in classrooms, and teachers are learning how to fit and use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
But Mr Arnott said it was a similar burden on untrained staff to enforcing COVID restrictions.
“There are people who are trained to be teachers who are spending their mornings donning their PPE, going around cleaning up the dead bodies of the mice. It is an exceptional level of what we went to university for,” he said.
A student at the WA College of Agriculture in Morawa saw mice infiltrate the campus. (Supplied)
“I know some of the schools are getting weekly shampooing of carpets, but the department is still working on provisions for deep cleaning, those things aren’t there yet.
“There is weekly pest control with approved pest management … but again how often can we get them into some of those regional areas, and is weekly enough considering the spread of the plague?”
Mr Arnott said schools also needed to ensure teaching and learning continued, but textbooks and library books were also being damaged.
“I know of one school is trying to turn [the plague] into a learning exercise,” he said.Â
“They’re talking about how quickly mice reproduce, they’re trying to turn it into a maths lesson.”
Government silent on concerns
The ABC requested an interview with Education Minister Sabine Winton, and put direct questions to the Department of Education about support being offered to schools, including mental health support.
The ABC asked if the department was aware of the shortage of resources like cleaners in rural communities, and if it would consider sending practical help.
The department did not answer these questions, while the minister declined an interview.
Dead mice need to be cleared from schools and homes as baiting is undertaken to control the problem. (Supplied)
