Bat Houses at School

     During class several weeks ago, I had a discussion with my teacher about where to put my bat houses and how best to get them there.  In order to best attract bats, bat houses should be located 15 feet off the ground facing southeast on a pole or the side of a building.  This way, they will receive the maximum amount of sunshine every day, keeping the breeding colonies that live in them over the summer warm.  We agreed that it would be really nice if I were able to post at least one house on the side of the IA and Mr. Pagnani said that he would ask the vice-principal, Mr. Smith, about it as soon as possible.
     The next class, Mr. Pagnani told me the results of his conversation.  Mr. Smith was not adverse to putting my houses on the side of the building, however he was concerned that the school health inspectors would consider bats "rodentia" and would not approve of attracting them to the school grounds.  Aside from the fact that bats are not rodentia as they are chiroptera, more closely related to primates than rodents, this is a valid concern.  Bats are considered rabies vectors in the state of Michigan because, despite the minute percentage of the bat population carrying the disease, sick bats are often picked up by humans, making them bite in self defence and spread rabies.  Bowers Farm, the educational farm near the IA has had a case of rabies in the last ten years.  Thus, school officials may be very leery of bats in the viscinity of a school.  It is Mr. Pagnani's opinion that I should hang them one up anywayas it is "simpler to ask forgiveness than permission."  However, I am worried that if the house is found after bats have moved in in the spring we will still have to take it down and that could hurt or kill all of the babies in the entire colony.  We are now looking for who to ask in order to place the house legally and Jessica Fabian, the head of animal care at the OBC has promised to help me find alternate places to hang the houses if the IA should fall through.