Bats prompt concern ahead of back-to-school at Stansbury Park Elementary School

STANSBURY PARK — As thousands of students prepare to return to classrooms across Utah, staff at Stansbury Park Elementary are working to address an ongoing problem: bats getting inside the school.

The Tooele County School District acknowledged the school has experienced bat activity for years and said mitigation efforts continued throughout the summer.

Parents said bats were seen flying inside the school as recently as last week when staff returned to campus, and there have also been reports of dead bats being found in the ceiling.

Marc Gonzales, a concerned parent, said the situation has been frustrating as the bats have also been spotted in the cafeteria.

"If it's been happening all summer, why haven't we done anything to stop it and prevent it?" Gonzales said.

District communications director Brett Valdez said school officials share those concerns.

"Quite frankly, it's a concern for us too," Valdez said.

The district said it has been working with professional bat mitigation specialists, maintenance crews, school administrators, the Tooele County Health Department and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to address the problem.

Because bats are a protected species, the district said the goal is to safely exclude them from the building.

One of the main mitigation measures is the installation of four "bat doors." The devices are on the school's roof and allow bats to leave the school but prevent them from getting back inside.

The district said crews have also been sealing potential entry points, inspecting vents and other access areas, installing additional door sweeps and continuing to monitor the building during the day and at night. The challenge is finding all possible entry points in the building.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said the school's location may provide favorable conditions for bats. Stansbury Park Elementary is near a golf course, where insects provide a food source, and larger structures such as schools and churches can provide habitat opportunities since bats are attracted to cinder block buildings. According to wildlife biologists, the bats are Mexican free-tailed bats that migrate from Mexico and Arizona to Utah during the summer months.

"I think they remind them of the caves in their natural habitat," said Utah Division of Wildlife Resources wildlife conservation biologist Shawn Pladas.

Pladas said the mitigation efforts appear to be working.

"I would say it's at a point where it's under control," Pladas said.

Pladas said some bats may continue returning to the school because they are looking for their former roost to raise their pups.

"We're getting a few bats here and there that are just coming looking to get into where their home, their roost would have been," Pladas said.

He said those bats should eventually move on once the building is fully sealed.

Pladas estimated the bat population near the school is "a few numbers here and there."

Officials also said they are not aware of any illnesses associated with bat exposure at the school.

While bats can carry rabies, Pladas said Utah's bat population tends to be healthy.

"It's not that we see a big number of rabies being rampant in our bat populations," Pladas said. "Less than .01% of our populations have or tested positive for rabies."

Pladas said bat populations are crucial to a healthy ecosystem and are expected to migrate south in the fall.

Still, Pladas stressed that students should not touch or handle a bat.

"If an exposure does occur, then the health department steps in to inform and provide medical advice. If anyone ever does pick up a bat or does have direct exposure, they should be contacting the health department immediately," he said.

"My concern is we don't know what the bats have or what they carry, and kids are unpredictable," Gonzales said.

If a child sees or touches a bat, parents are asked to report the incident to the school and Tooele County Health Department.

Valdez said the last bat sighting at the school was last Tuesday, Aug. 11. On Friday, he added, the health department toured the school and found no major issues.

The district said its focus remains on student and staff safety and finding a long-term solution.

"While no one can guarantee bats will never return, our commitment is to continue working with experts, follow recommended mitigation practices and address concerns promptly whenever they arise," Valdez said.

For more information, you can visit the Utah Health Department's Rabies Assessment Tool or the Utah Health Department's Bat in School Response.

Click here for information about bats and rabies.

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