Georgia school district cancels classes due to snakes and squirrel concerns, officials say

The first week of school for an East Georgia county has been cut short as district leaders say they want to check campuses for snakes, squirrels, and other animals.

The Hancock County School District announced in a message to families and staff that all schools and offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday "due to an environmental safety issue."

The school district expects to be back to a normal schedule on Monday if everything goes to plan.

Speaking to WMAZ, Hancock County Schools interim Superintendent Latrasha Palmer said that the move happened after two black snakes were seen on one school's campus and another spotting of a potentially poisonous brown snake was reported in a building.

"I wanted to just do a sweep of the entire campus, just everything, because we're in a rural setting. Our buildings are 30 to 40 years old," Palmer said.

She told WMAZ that the district would do an environmental assessment for all kinds of wildlife, mentioning previous incidents involving squirrels.

"We want to make sure everybody is safe in our schools," Palmer told the news outlet. "We're checking that there are no animals, no snakes, nothing inside our buildings."

Officials say there have been no specific wildlife interactions with students or staff members and that they are working with licensed professionals to ensure the buildings are safe.

The school district said that they may send out additional updates as they work to resolve the matter. They plan to continue bringing specialists in to monitor the buildings.