SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The bat saga continues for a Shelby County elementary school, forcing hundreds of Wright Elementary School students out of the classroom Friday.

Around 5 p.m. Thursday, health officials told Shelby County Public Schools (SCPS) to close the elementary school on Friday. Since then, crews have been working to seal the roof and reroute the bats.

“Kids are automatically ... they're intrigued and anything that's new or different," Jill Tingle, Shelby County Public Schools Assistant superintendent of Operations, said.

For a month now, health officials and school leaders have been monitoring bats inside of Wright Elementary. First the bats were in the attic. Then, they moved to the school's gym.

The school district has been working with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, OPC, and ATC Wildlife Services to get them out while keeping the school open.

“Kind of common sense wise when you start blocking off any area, they're gonna look for new entry points. It's been in the gym. Sometimes it's been in a bathroom, but it's like any other creature of habit," said Tingle. "They used to come in at a certain place and that exit is no longer available. They're going to look for a new pathway."

The students were able to go to school, but stayed out of the gym until Friday. That's because, this week, a bat was spotted inside of a classroom full of students.

“There were no risks at that time for the children up until that point and at which point there was risk to the next course of action," Roanya Rice, with the North Central Health Department, said.

Health officials told WDRB News bats are also inside of the Shelby County High School gym. The school has stayed open, but students and staff are staying outside of the gym.

Health officials have captured and tested nine bats so far. Four were found at Shelby County High School and five inside of Wright Elementary.

“As soon as we can determine that it's a safe environment for the students and staff to return, then we will reopen the school and we're working to get that done as quickly as we can," Rice said.

The results of one of the bats is still pending and another didn't have a strong enough sample, but the rest tested negative for rabies.

“Now prior to the bats in the school, we did have a couple of bats in the community that we sent for testing and they were actually positive for rabies," said Rice. "Again, the schools have been negative."

Zero students have touched a bat. The one found in the classroom was removed after teachers took the kids to the front office.

"The bats are not going to hinder that learning for us any longer," Tingle said. “That's the most important part, is our kids continue to learn. I don't think people understand that we have students that will go without a warm meal for a couple of days. And so, it's just important that we take care of the whole child here and we want to (be) back in school on Monday.”

All of the students who attend Wright Elementary School will continue their school year on Monday just down the road at Southside Elementary School, until they are told otherwise.

For more information about the switch in school locations, you can read the following letter that was sent out to parents Friday morning.

"September 8, 2023

Dear Wright Elementary Parents,

Thank you for your patience as we navigate the eviction of bats at Wright Elementary School.

For the week of September 11th through September 15th, Wright Elementary students and teachers will utilize classroom space at Southside Elementary and the Blair Center.

Wright Elementary bus routes will stay the same with students being picked up and dropped off at Southside instead of Wright.

Students will be with their teachers in their own classroom spaces at Southside. The Blair Center has two classroom spaces and a large learning area with wall dividers that will also be used by students and teachers.

Breakfast and lunch will be served to Wright students in the Southside cafeteria.

The afterschool care will be open at Southside for those Wright students previously enrolled in the program.

Please realize Wright Elementary will be a guest so car rider lines will enter Southside via Ginko from Kentucky Street. Wright Families will not use 7th Street. Car rider lines may be a little longer and take more time next week. I will send a video and more information on Sunday, 9/10.

Students will be greeted and escorted to the gym where they will be dismissed to their temporary learning space."

Southside Elementary School is located at 728 Ginkgo Drive in Shelbyville, Kentucky.

Parents with any questions or concerns are asked to email seth.green@shelby.kyschools.us or ryan.allan@shelby.kyschools.us.

You can also follow district updates on the SCPS website by clicking here.

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