While some teachers might say their students drive them batty, it was the nocturnal animal itself that had several teachers and parents at Ramage Elementary School concerned this past week.

“What we discovered was a colony of bats at the school,” Assistant Superintendent of School John Hudson told the Coal Valley News.

School personnel at Ramage Elementary School returned from Spring Break on Monday to learn that approximately 13 bats had taken up residence within the school.

“They were laying under a rug in the gym by the door, where the kids had to walk to get inside when they were on the playground. If a child would have stepped on one, they could have easily bitten a child. No one knew they were there and ye,s they were alive,” Denise Carr, parent at Ramage Elementary shared with the Coal Valley News.

“The way we found them was a lady went to open the gym door to let a child in, she moved the rug and seen something wiggle and then she let out a scream. There were four of them laying in a pile under the rug,” she explained.

“The problem with the school is not the schools fault or the principal, Mr. Barker. He is absolutely great, the kids all respond well to him and he has a gentle nature that all principals and teachers should have when dealing with elementary school children. He has a boss, he does what he is told by them. Ramage Grade School is a great school also.

“The thing is that these bats are flying through our school, they are spraying and they leave droppings everywhere. That is the main thing with me. Are these things they are leaving behind going to cause our kids to get sick? They say that there is no danger and they would close the school if they thought it necessary. It will take one of our kids to get sick or worst, die, before they see that it is necessary. By then it will be too late,” Carr said.

According to the Center for Disease Control, bats can carry both rabies and their guano, or bat droppings, can carry an airborne disease called histoplasmosis.

Histoplasmosis affects the lungs and people become infected by breathing the spores, although with most infected persons there are no apparent ill effects, according to the CDC.

A skin test is used to determine whether a person has histoplasmosis and antifungal medications are used to treat severe cases, according to the CDC.

According to spokespersons for both the Boone County Health Department and Boone County Schools, the small numbers of bats and general situation at Ramage Elementary School did not warrant an investigation into the possibility of an airborne disease.

“We’ve had a few calls from concerned parents, but what we’ve explained is that there is no risk as there is not a large population of bats,” Hudson said.

According to Hudson, anywhere that a bat has been seen, cleaning crews have removed debris and have used industrial cleaning solutions to disinfect those areas.

One such area was the Pre-K classroom, where several overhead ceiling tiles were completely removed and replaced.

According to Hudson, since learning of the colony of bats making their home in the rafters of the school, the local health department had visited the school on two separate occasions.

Hudson said that Boone County Schools contact Wildlife Removal Services, Inc., to totally eradicate the bats. “They sealed the entire building and waited until dusk before going into the school. It took a period of days and we think that some of the bats were returning through some of those old holes in the building, so we fixed them. There have been no new infestations,” he said.

Ramage school teacher Buddy Hudson told the Coal Valley News that he didn’t know about the bat infestation until after Spring Break, but felt safe at the school despite the current efforts to eradicate the bats from the building.

“I teach here and my son is in the 3rd grade here. I feel safe with my son here. If I felt unsafe, my child would be the first one out of the building,” he said.

“If we had an influx of more bats, we would consider closing [the school] down,” Superintendent Pauley said.

Hudson said he understood the other parents’ concerns but said everything is being done to stop the problem.

“I will say that today we did not see any bats inside and some of the places that needed fixed has been fixed. They have cleaned up a bit too. They are, however, sticking on the outside of the school, but they are at the top so the kids cannot touch them. Outside, up high, where a bat should be,” Denise Carr said.

Ramage Elementary School has a student body population of 279 students in grades Pre-K through 6th grade.