IPM LETTER TO PARENTS ENGLISH

To the Parents of Nyssa School District students:

This letter is to inform you of the mandatory Integrated Pest Management (IPM) laws that Oregon Schools must abide by since new law was enacted on July 1, 2012 (ORS 637.700-637-750. We are required to notify staff, students, parents, and the general public anytime there is a scheduled application of pesticide at any of our school campuses. In that notification you will find expected application dates, the name of the pesticide being applied, and the EPA registration number of that pesticide. In the near future you will find our IPM plan on the Nyssa School District web page along with any planned pesticide applications. This will serve as our primary way of notification to parents. Our web address is: http://www.nyssa.k12.or.us/

For each application of a pesticide-inside or outside- we are also required to post in the vicinity of the application on that school campus. So on occasion you may see signs posted informing you of a pesticide application at a school, but please be assured that we are doing everything we can to keep these applications to a minimum and only using the safest of products to achieve the expected results. There will be contact information on the application posting signs of who you can call if you ever have questions about what is going on or what products are being used.

All of the pesticides that we use are on an approved list of pesticides provided by the state IPM Coordinator and the Oregon State University. They have looked at the products, checked the label rating which is never higher than a Caution rating, they have looked at the active ingredients, and they have verified that there are no known carcinogens to human life in any of these products. You can find a copy of the approved list of pesticides at the following web page:

http://www.ipmnet.org/tim/IPM_in_Schools/IPM%20Materials/8-5-13_Low-Impact_Pesticide_List.pdf If you have questions or concerns I would encourage you to research these products. Nyssa School District is currently only using a couple of these pesticides.

I would also encourage you to review the entire IPM program at http://www.ipmnet.org/tim/and click on the IPM in Schools tab to see what we are doing and how we go about improving the condition of our schools and the healthier environment for your students. It is all about educating, communicating, and eliminating pests through cleaning and organizing our environment. We are sealing up our buildings, eliminating clutter, putting foods into plastic storage containers, eliminating leaks and drips in our plumbing, properly pruning our landscaping, and being more thorough in our cleaning efforts. Through these efforts we are eliminating the three things that pests need to survive, food, water, and shelter. We are also providing a healthier learning environment for your children, and saving the school district precious dollars that would be otherwise spent on pesticides.

If you have questions you may contact me at: jmelendez@nyssasd.org

Thank you,

Jesse Melendez

Nyssa School District IPM Coordinator