GEORGE, Iowa (AP) — The start of the school year at one northwestern Iowa school district has been delayed after a colony of bats was discovered in a second-floor high school office.

George-Little Rock superintendent John Eyerly tells the Sioux City Journal that an electrician installing a new phone system during the first week of August found evidence of bats while in the school's liaison officer's office.

The school has contracted with a pest control company to remove the bats. To allow enough time to complete the removal and sterilization, classes will now begin Aug. 28 for all district schools. School was previously scheduled to start Wednesday.

The bats' removal, which will also include installation of some new insulation, will run around $50,000.

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Information from: Sioux City Journal, http://www.siouxcityjournal.com