This situation all sounds a bit batty, doesn't it? A New Hampshire school closed after officials discovered a massive infestation of bats on campus. Has Dracula taken root at an elementary school?
Probably not, but inspectors did find hundreds of bats hibernating in the building. It's forced the school to close for the time being. We're not talking about small fruit bats either. These are massive nightmare-fueling creatures.
Richards Elementary School in Newport closed for a small amount of time. Newport School District Superintendent Donna Magoon told WMUR the bats were everywhere.
"They were hiding in poles, they were hanging from ceilings, they were everywhere," she said. "I think people are thinking it's little, tiny black bats. It's not! It's huge."
But it's not the size that concerns Magoon, it's the risk for disease.
"People are saying 'it's just a bat,' but bats carry rabies," she told Valley News. "If you work with young kids, [you know] if they see a bat they're going to try to touch it."
Bats In The School
In fact, the school held the inspection after staff began to fall ill at the school. Initially, they suspected mold at the school. "There's no type of mold or anything in our air, so what else could it be," she said.
Meanwhile, the New Hampshire Department of Education released their own statement. The organization is "aware of the situation...and has been in communication with its school leaders."
"NHED will continue to correspond with school officials to ensure that students have a safe and healthy place to learn and that the bat infestation is adequately resolved," it wrote.
How does something like this even happen? Well, according to Magoon, the bats got in "through small holes in ceiling tiles and other gaps around pipes."
"To address this issue proactively, we will be contracting with someone to look for any signs of bat movement. This will be happening roughly every two weeks," she also explained. "Also, our facilities team will conduct inspections to ensure that all ceiling tiles remain intact, and any damaged tiles are promptly replaced or repaired."
She also wanted to reassure parents. "Please rest assured that the health and safety of our staff and students remain my top priority," Magoon also said. "I will always err on the side of caution to ensure a safe learning environment."
However, the school ultimately reopened after they sealed the tile and pipes, preventing bats from getting into the lower school. They plan to remove the infestation by March.
"Now I know there's an issue, now I got to deal with it," she said. "If someone ever got hurt it would not be ok. I would be devastated."
