A flock of bats have found a home in the wooden beams above the Building 10 stairs, causing concern amongst students and staff members.

As with any wild animal, bats can carry disease and cause damage. Bats are infamous for causing the infectious disease histoplasmosis: a fungus found in the droppings of wild animals.

Alarmed by the sight of a dead bat, senior Sidney Shipe hopes the bat issue will be resolved soon.

“I feel like BHS could do better at keeping our school sanitary for the people who sit on the stairs and eat,” Shipe said.

Principal Dr. Todd Edwards is aware of the problem.

“[The bat issue] was one of the first things I was shown by maintenance when I got here last summer,” Edwards said. “It’s just not a good situation, we need to get them out of here.”

With the work of machines and the maintenance crew, the school is working to solve the bat issue.

“[Exterminators] put on a [gate] while the bats were in between this little gap between the wooden beams and concrete wall,” Edwards said. “When [the bats] push down, they can get out, but then it flips shut so they can’t get back in. When the exterminators came back, they found more [bats]. Where these bats are located, we can’t get the scissor lift to [reach], so we are ordering some scaffolding. It’s just taking time.”

Though Edwards does not know exactly when the problem will be resolved, he assures it will be soon.

“If there was an immediate, imminent threat, the school would have already taken care of it,” Edwards said. “But obviously we need to get rid of them, they’re wild animals. Any time humans and wild animals come in contact, we need to be aware of it and deal with it quickly.”