NORFOLK, Va. — At a meeting that went on for nearly three hours, parents got fired up as they demanded answers from administrators over rodent and mold issues.
Parents were upset and worried after reports came out about the school dealing with a rodent infestation.
Teachers sent pictures to 13News Now showing dead rats and feces around the building.
School district officials and school board members decided to meet with parents Tuesday night to address concerns and share information.
Parents at the meeting said there's been a lack of transparency from the administration.
"They're upset and I completely understand it. This is their children," said John Hazelette, Acting Deputy Superintendent of Operations.
Dozens of parents of Sherwood Forest Elementary School students pressed Norfolk Public Schools officials and school board members for answers.
A lot of parents wondered the same thing.
"Should I bring my child to school tomorrow?" was asked.
Dr. Noëlle M. Gabriel, Chair of the Norfolk Public Schools School Board, told parents that was their choice, but in response to another parent, she said she would bring her child in to school Wednesday.
School officials told parents that the district did testing to check on air quality and rodents in September. They said the results showed the air was good and the rodents were deemed not an "infestation."
Parents were furious because the results weren't shared with them last month.
"My kids are home sick. They've been sick. Over the weekend, they were on breathing pumps," said parent Whitney Stewart. " I just want to be assured that this situation is going to be fixed and you're not just telling us something to close our mouths."
The district officials apologized for not informing parents of the results saying they "missed the mark."
School Board Vice Chair Carlos Clanton and board chair Dr. Gabriel stepped up to help reign the meeting in after parents bombarded officials with questions drowning them out.
Some parents, like Arikawe Vera said the control was needed.
"I understand that a lot of parents have a lot of concerns, but I feel like they were more so attacking the people who were trying to give us answers but couldn't answer because they're not here every day," Vera said.
Despite the long meeting and all the questions, parents said they're leaving with more questions and concerns.
"Is this school safe? If it isn't safe, what are they going to do for our kids in the meantime?" Parent Crystal Cross asked.
"They really don't have any answers for us. We're asking questions and they say, 'We can't answer that. We can't promise that.' Well, that's not good enough," Stewart added.
13News Now asked Hazllette what "myths" they wanted to dispell. He said he doesn't know of any myths because he didn't write the notice that went out to parents so he'd only be guessing.
We also asked Hazelette what changes are happening right now and what actions they're taking. He said the school board is going to address that at their meeting on Wednesday and administrators will provide a briefing for them and they'll go from there.