NEW ORLEANS – A report of bats flying around the McDonogh 35 high school campus had the Orleans Parish School Board taking action Thursday.
Callers to WWL-TV said that bats had been seen flying in a stairwell and a viewer sent in a photo of a dead bat that he said was found on the campus.
A school administrator told an Eyewitness News crew that two bats were spotted in the school’s stairwell and a caller who identified herself as a student at the school said students have been told if they see a bat to run to the nearest classroom and close the door. The school board said that the state’s Department of Health and Hospitals Office of Public Health had approved measures the board is taking to eliminate health risks from the bats.
The board said it is sealing unwanted entries to the building; installing ‘excluder’ devices, replacing ceiling tiles and making a plan to relocate students in the building if necessary.
The Orleans Parish School Board issued a statement acknowledging a “pest issue” at McDonogh 35, while stopping short of saying the pests were bats.
“Problems of this type are not unusual given the age of the school building and its vicinity to some abandoned and blighted buildings in the neighborhood,” said the statement.
McDonogh 35 is slated to have a new building constructed with work to begin in the next 24-30 months.
