Maury Bat Update As Testing Week Begins

As students and teachers ready themselves for a week of testing, bats continue to plague Maury Middle School. According to Jefferson County School’s Director of Facilities and Business Affairs Michael Phagan, one classroom at Maury has been quarantined due to the presence of bats. Phagan stated that, following last weekend’s attempt to seal the entrance that the bats were using, two bats were found in the classroom in question. He said that he had personally been checking the room daily and would continue that process until sometime this week. Students have been relocated until the classroom has been cleared.

While there has been work done to insure that bats do not enter the school, Phagan said that there is a possibility that a number of bats could have been trapped inside the building. There are also a significant number, more than two dozen, that have taken up residence roosting just outside the building and there is a plan in place to remove the coping cap that sits on top of the exterior wall and secure that area from bat entry into the building. The Department of Education had hoped that work would be done early last Thursday but the roofers had not shown up as of the close of school. It is unclear if they were able to complete the work over the weekend due to weather conditions. As of date, air quality testing has not been done at the school, largely because the company handling the clean up does not have the proper equipment to do the testing. Phagan said that Clean Reflections, a local company that handles property maintenance, has been heading the effort to remove the bats and clean the guano and urine from the area. While there are specialized equipment used in the removal of bats to insure that partial colonies are not trapped, it is unclear if the process employed by more specialized removal companies was used or if, as was stated, the supposed entry point was simply closed leaving no means of escape for any remaining colony members. Clean Reflections is awaiting air quality testing equipment, according to Phagan, which is expected arrived late this week. He said that he anticipates the testing results to be available sometime next week and he is unclear if students will be present during testing.

Director Phagan would like to install bat boxes on the grounds at Maury and is looking to the Building Trades classes at Jefferson County High School as a possible source for those boxes.