CINCINNATI — Workers at South Avondale Elementary School discovered an unusual new student in their building early Wednesday morning: One with grabby little hands, an appetite for garbage and no apparent interest in leaving.
Also, it was a raccoon.
The little creature’s spring break-in prompted the school to send its human students to Rockdale Academy for the remainder of Wednesday and cancel Thursday classes “out of an abundance of caution,” Cincinnati Public Schools spokeswoman Lauren Worley said.
Kenyatta Harris, who has three children at the school, said she was forced to find a babysitter at short notice. Other parents complained of the same issue on Facebook and Twitter.
The raccoon remained at South Avondale Elementary by Wednesday evening, and Worley said district officials did not know how it had gotten inside.
Wildlife experts “will remove the animal from the building in a humane manner” before euthanizing it to prevent a second attempt at making the school its home.
The school will be cleaned Thursday for students' safety, Worley said.
