Coronavirus fears ignite parent debate about how Wake school lunch tables are cleaned
The Wake County school system says it doesn’t plan to change how it cleans lunchroom cafeteria tables, despite some parent fears about the spread of coronavirus.
Wake County schools only use surface sanitizers on cafeteria tables when students aren’t present and there is a long enough period for the solution to dry, according to Heather Lawing, a district spokeswoman. The rest of the time, when students are in the cafeteria, the district only uses water to clean the tables.
Lawing said the district is not changing that practice. That message was echoed in a coronavirus update that Wake posted online Thursday night.
“The rapid turn-around of students in our cafeterias during lunch sessions does not allow for the safe use of chemicals between classes,” Lawing said in an email Thursday. “During these transitions, tables are cleaned using water.”
But Kira Kroboth, a parent at Partnership Elementary School in Raleigh, says she doesn’t understand why Wake is being so resistant about using stronger cleaning methods. Her online petition calling on Wake to use more than just water to clean cafeteria tables had more than 3,900 signatures as of early Thursday afternoon.
Kroboth created the petition in 2018 during that year’s severe flu outbreak. She said the petition has received more than 1,500 new signatures this week since North Carolina had its first reported case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
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State officials said Tuesday that a Wake County resident was exposed to the virus in Washington state, where there is a COVID-19 outbreak at a long-term care facility, the News & Observer previously reported.
Petition asks for using more than water to clean lunch tables
“People could die from coronavirus,” Kroboth said in an interview Thursday. “They like to say it can’t be done, it can’t be done but I think it’s a lack of willingness to do it. I’m seeing more and more parents who are responding.”
Wake, along with other school districts, has told families that practicing good hygiene is a way to control the spread of coronavirus. They’ve sent reminders about washing hands and staying home if students feel sick.
But Kroboth said Wake can do more in school cafeterias to make the tables cleaner. She said the simple act of using soap along with water to clean tables between lunch periods would be an improvement.
“It doesn’t have to be a huge spray of bleach that makes people cough,” Kroboth said. “There are safe options out there.”
Wake isn’t alone though in this approach.
In Durham Public Schools, cafeteria tables are wiped down between classes with plain water due to allergen concerns and disinfectant chemicals not being allowed to be used around students, according to Chip Sudderth, a district spokesman. He said cafeteria tables are disinfected prior to and after each meal service.
But in Chapel HIll-Carrboro City Schools, district spokesman Jeff Nash said cafeteria tables are cleaned with a disinfectant every time a student leaves the lunch table, including between classes.
Lawing said Wake’s cafeteria cleaning practices are driven by district food allergy guidelines and are based on scientific literature and consultations provided by area medical practices including UNC and Duke.
Lawing said this means surface sanitizer is only used by cafeteria workers on tables before and after breakfast and after the final lunch session. She said those cleanings when students aren’t present give ample time for the solution, which can be toxic to some children, to completely dry.
She said that’s not an option between classes when one group of students leave and are quickly replaced by more students.
“Our cleaning practices consider the safety of all students with medical conditions and allergies including, but not limited to food and environmental,” Lawing said.
These measures fall far short for families, according to Sarah Thompson, a Raleigh mother with children at Millbrook High School and Partnership Elementary. Thompson’s oldest child is in remission from cancer, so she’s concerned about him being exposed to students who could pick up infections at school.
“It’s just common sense that we should be cleaning the tables with something more than just water,” Thompson said in an interview.
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 2:29 PM.
