Bat problem to force Plaster Rock school to close for rest of academic year

Parents were notified on Friday that Tobique Valley High School will be closing for the rest of the school year to remove bats. The bat population has been an ongoing issue in the school and students will be relocated for the rest of the school year depending on their grade.

Parents were informed on Friday that students will be relocated to 2 different schools

Oliver Pearson · CBC News · Posted: Apr 26, 2025 6:03 PM EDT | Last Updated: April 26

The outside of a two-storey, brown school building with cars parked in the parking lot. — Tobique Valley High School's last day for students is Monday, April 28. Crews will begin to remove bats and feces once the building is vacated. (Apple Maps)

Tobique Valley High School in Plaster Rock, N.B., will be closed for the remainder of the school year so that a bat and feces problem at the school can be addressed.

Parents were notified Friday in an email from a school official.

Student have one more day of school on Monday and then the school will shut down for cleaning. They also have the option to gather their belongings and not attend for the full day.

The students will then have the rest of the week off, before resuming their studies on Monday, May 5.

Tobique Valley High School students in grades 6 to 8 will go to Donald Fraser Memorial School, which is about a kilometre away.

Students in grades 9 to 12 will go to Southern Victoria High School in Perth-Andover, which is roughly 40 kilometres away.

"Since March, students and staff have been very patient and resilient when it comes to attending school in a building that bats also occupy, and the time has come when we need to investigate further and remediate the bat issue as well as provide a safe and comfortable learning and working environment for all," said the email to parents.

Crystal O'Neil stands with her daughter to the left and son to the right. — Crystal O'Neil's kids will now go to separate schools, which will be an adjustment for the family. One will go down the street and the other will be bussed 40 kilometres away to Perth-Andover. (Submitted by Crystal O'Neil)

Students were previously sent home on March 17 due to bats flying in the school.

The 134 Students enrolled at Tobique Valley High School will stay with their same classes and have the same teachers and support staff at the new schools.

Crystal O'Neil has two kids at Tobique Valley and is the president of the Parent School Support Committee.

She's pleased with the news.

Anglophone West School District superintendent David McTimoney says closing the school for at least three months will allow for taking 'a deeper dive into the issue.' (CBC)

"I'm 100 per cent at ease," she said. "At least everybody's out of that building."

But she's less enthusiastic about the move to other schools.

"I was pushing for other options, for online learning, sending home assignments, something that these kids can do while the cleanup is happening," said O'Neil.

Prior to the announced closure, there were plans to clean the school without disrupting the students' studies, which would have begun Monday, April 28.

Reason for changing plan

In an email to CBC News, David McTimoney, Anglophone West School District superintendent, said that plan no longer became viable.

"In learning that the presence of bats has remained over the past several weeks, with varying numbers found most days, and knowing that the level of discomfort among staff, students, and parents was on the rise, we took a closer look at our options to address the concerns," he said.

O'Neil and many other parents also took issue with a cleanup taking place while staff and students were in the building.

O'Neil said her kids, who are in grades 7 and 10, have varying levels of concern. Her son will be able to walk to his new host school that is near Tobique Valley, while transportation for her daughter has not been announced yet. She said her daughter is worried about the extra travel and plans for her volleyball season.