PHOTO: A bat rests upside down. | Shutterstock
By JOEL PHELPS | arkadelphian.com
More than just teenagers are prone to “hang out” at Arkadelphia High School. With summer vacation in full swing and high-schoolers no longer roaming the hallways, bats have taken up residency in some of the walls and ceilings.
School board members sank their fangs into district coffers on Tuesday to hire a specialized team to move the nocturnal nuisances on their way.
District officials acknowledged that bats have had a presence at AHS for the past several years — with “one or two here or there” spotted in the building — but recently discovered an infestation as the bats’ guano began reeking in the halls near the special education classroom and the JROTC courtyard.
Based on the strong odors and piles of guano, a colony of an estimated 500-1,000 chiropterans are roosting in the dark spaces of AHS, said Jimmy King, director of support services.
In recent weeks, district leaders sought out the expertise of John Anthony Halpin’s That Guy Wildlife Services, a Hot Springs company that inspected AHS and surrounding facilities, including Goza Middle School. Halpin provided an estimate to keep the bats from hanging around, and to clean up the mess they left behind.
Because many bats are federally protected, eradication of the critters isn’t an option — Halpin’s company will seal the roofline and install temporary one-way passages so the bats can fly out, but not back in.
Halpin determined that AHS will require sealing along the entire roofline and above the walls of the special education classroom where bats have been roosting. In cleanup, the company will use an enzyme solution to break down the guano and remove it without damage to the walls.
An inspection of the field house called for sealing, as well, as a precaution against future infestations, and a roofline sealing will be performed at Goza to prevent infestation there.
The entire job will last 3-6 weeks and will be finished ahead of the start of the new school year.
Without batting an eye, school board members gave their unanimous approval to spend $35,625 to get rid of the flying mammals. The action was done with an emergency clause in order to streamline the process.
In other business, the board spent two hours handling routine and annual housekeeping business, including the hearing of a number of state-mandated policy updates and proposed handbook updates.
• Among the highlights of the handbook updates is the cracking down on early checkouts, particularly at Peake Elementary School, where many parents often try to avoid the lengthy car rider line.
• Beginning after the March 2026 school board election, board members will serve four-year terms as opposed to the three-year terms they’ve served to date. Each of the seven school board members will be up for re-election in March.
• Goza will be implementing conservation instruction, continuing a collaboration with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission to engage students in conservation and outdoor recreation experiences and learning.
• The board approved the grant-funded spending of $11,000 in power tools for Agriscience, and another grant-funded $37,000 for the purchase of CNC Plasma and supplies for the program.
• In a special-called meeting prior to the regular meeting, board members heard a presentation from Clayton Vaden of Lewis Architects Engineers on a proposed floor plan for the new Arkadelphia High School. With approved state funding the district is obligated to build a 99,492-SF facility, which would include a gymnasium/arena, an auditorium, a cafeteria, administrative space and some 6,000-SF of classrooms and career/tech space. The existing high school would function until completion of the new facility, then be demolished. The school board will iron out the details of funding — and whether to ask voters for a millage extension or increased millage — at a later date. That decision will need to be made by August in order to meet election deadlines.
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