VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The following is a tongue in cheek news release from Valley City Public School District Superintendent Josh Johnson.

“This fall we are adding a non-paid position to the VC Junior/Senior High School.  Mr. Chiroptera, or nicknamed Bat for short, has been a constant and reliable figure at VC Jr/Sr High for at least the past 10 years. With his reliable presence at the beginning of each school year, we thought it would be important to recognize Bat’s efforts in our school district and officially announce his hire to VCPS.   The following comments were made by Superintendent Johnson at the press conference introducing Mr. Bat.  “While Mr. Bat may scare some of us, we need to all be grateful for his hard work at the VC Junior/Senior High.  Without AC or proper ventilation in the 100-year-old high school; windows, vents, and doors are often left open to bring in fresh air and reduce classroom temperatures.  We are thankful for Bat working through the night to help reduce our mosquito and bug populations.  We are hoping in the near future that a day will come when Bat will be able to retire from his work and presence at the 100+ year old VC Junior/Senior High.  In the meantime, please help us embrace Bat and his hard work at Valley City Public Schools.”

Johnson said with all joking aside, we do have bats that find their way into VC Junior/Senior High each fall.  We have been successful in the past in catching and releasing these critters into the country.  We will continue to try to eliminate ways that they can gain access into the schools but also realize the difficulty of this challenge.   We have been continuing in our discussions this summer to address our aging school facilities and will look forward to sharing information with you in the next month.