Oh man, I went through the same thing last year with "my bad." Took me about six weeks of showing up to every PTA meeting and cornering the vice principal in the parking lot. What finally did it was getting three other moms to send the exact same email on the same day. They caved by Friday.

Inspectors don't always care about that clearance rule lol

Did your rep actually write the reply, or was it a staffer? That part matters more than people realize, because staff are the ones who put things on the agenda. Either way, six emails is a good run.