JACKSONVILLE, Fla — The Duval County School Board is calling the living conditions at the Hilltop Village Apartments a public health crisis.
“There’s over 150 almost 200 students in that apartment complex that go to Duval County Public Schools, so we know when they come to school their academic performance is affected by their living conditions," said Darryl Willie, vice chairman of the Duval County school board.
According to the resolution, the apartment was last inspected in 2015 and while they were due for another inspection in 2017 it never happened.
Since May, more than 500 citations have been made by the city of Jacksonville’s Municipal Code of Compliance Division against the property due to its living conditions.
Willie says the building is infested with not only rodents but roaches.
“One of the parents were saying their kid pees the bed at night not because they can’t go up and use the bathroom but they are scared to use the bathroom because of what they may see when they wake up at night," said Willie.
Willie says another problem is that students aren’t sleeping at night because of the conditions they are living in at Hilltop Village, which can affect their academic performance.
“We are as a school board we just understand that we are also a part of this community and school and school-aged kids are a part of that community too. So, we just wanted to make sure that we were in full support," said Willie.
First Coast News has reached out to Hilltop Village Apartments for a statement and is waiting to hear back.