A Georgia school district was forced to close its doors at all schools days after the year began, when potentially venomous snakes, pesky squirrels and even some raccoons were found at one of the campuses, according to reports.

Students in Hancock County, a rural area about 100 miles southeast of Atlanta, went back to school Monday, but are off the rest of the week over an “environmental safety issue” on campus, located in the town of Sparta, the district said in a statement.

“We had seen a couple of snakes. So we started checking the outside perimeter, making sure that the students were actually safe and after that, we saw one on the inside,” Interim Superintendent Latrasha Palmer told 11 Alive.

Staff first noticed black snakes on campus Monday, but were not concerned because they are not venomous. However, on Tuesday, a brown snake appeared — and was later confirmed to be venomous. It was not immediately clear which school the snakes were found near, but the district’s middle and high school share a campus. There is also an elementary and early childhood center in the same town.

“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.

However, the snakes weren’t the only animals causing problems on campus. Palmer told 13 WMAZ the district is doing a “complete environmental assessment” after snakes, squirrels and raccoons made their presence known.

The Superintendent did not specify how many animals in total were spotted in the school buildings and around campus.

“Anywhere where there’s any potential for any environmental contact that could impact our learning,” Palmer said.

The district says it plans to reopen Monday.

“We want to make sure everybody is safe in our schools,” Palmer said. “We’re checking that there are no animals, no snakes, nothing inside our buildings.”

School officials said that, luckily, no students were bitten by the rogue animals, but that there had been some sightings.

“We’ve had some incidents with squirrels,” Palmer said without specifying what kind of incidents.

The school district was working with a licensed wildlife professional Thursday on an environmental assessment of the campus.

In the meantime, parents of students in the district are ready for the school year to continue without interruption.

“It started Monday, and now they’re out again for the next Monday,” Miranda Edwards, a Hancock County mother, told WRDW. “I had got my electric bill down the way I wanted it. And now they got to be home another week. All the lights left on in the house. Yeah, I’m ready for them to go back.”

Another resident, Holly Croft, said the situation was not surprising given the schools are located in a rural area.

“You live in Sparta, and they’re going to be unusual country things happening,” Croft said. “And this sounds like one of those things. It sounds like they just took up residence over the summer and hung out.”

She noted the raccoons felt like the most unusual part of it all.

“I honestly think the raccoon would surprise me the most because, I mean, they’re kind of crafty, you know? They can get up to all kinds of things,” Croft said.

Edwards, who heard rumors on social media about the snakes in the school, said she expects the district to conduct a thorough inspection before students return.

“You have to be very cautious, and yeah, they’re gonna have to check every room, every building,” Edwards said.