School May Schedule Pesticide Meeting

School district officials today will try to set up a meeting with Banyan Elementary School parents angered about the use of pesticides on school grounds.

Fumigators hired by the Conejo Valley Unified School District were set to treat the campus buildings for termites Friday, but more than 25 parents threatened to blockade the school, leading officials to postpone the fumigation, said Gary Mortimer, the district’s superintendent. Officials said they want to meet with parents soon.

Parents are relieved about the delay, but they have work to do, said Banyan’s incoming PTA President Mark Mendez. When they meet with officials, they’ll suggest alternatives to Vikane, the pesticide in question.

Mendez said parents weren’t told of the fumigation, but learned only by word-of-mouth. “We felt they were trying to slip it by people.”

The district has used Vikane for at least two years, Mortimer said. The pesticide is legal, and “it’s nothing different than what’s done to homes,” he said.

Some parents said they would like to use heat treatment to drive the termites from the buildings, but Mortimer said the high heat levels could hurt equipment in the buildings and that heat is more expensive.