School district hopes to eradicate bat infestation that has plagued school for years
Starting Tuesday, April 29, Tobique Valley High School (TVHS) in Plaster Rock will be closed for the remainder of the school year while exterminators address a bat infestation.
The school has been plagued by a bat problem intermittently for years. David McTimoney, Superintendent of the Anglophone School District West, says the seriousness of the bat infestation became clear in March.
“While there have been occasions of finding bats in the past, it was at a different level of significance in March,” said McTimoney.
The school was cancelled for one day in March, but officials felt a full closure would be best for students as staff dealt with the problem.
The facilities team will be working to cover and fill any holes where bats could enter. The district has hired a private company to clean and disinfect the school’s attic in the coming weeks.
A provincial biologist was scheduled to visit the school on April 28. In the meantime, staff have been capturing bats and releasing them outside.
While the school is closed, students in Grades 6 to 8 will attend Donald Fraser Memorial School, located approximately one km from TVHS. Grades 9 to 12 students will attend Southern Victoria High School in Perth-Andover, 40 km away.
The students will continue their scheduled classes and have the same teachers and support staff from TVHS.
McTimoney says he trusts the problem will be solved soon.
“With the building about to be vacant for three months, we have high hopes that we will be able to find resolution to the matter,” said McTimoney.
