As parents dropped their students off for the first day of school Thursday, they may have noticed missing ceiling tiles and taped off construction areas at their schools.
The ongoing construction is part of various projects Columbus Municipal School District is funding with a $36 million bond taxpayers approved in May 2024 to address needed facility upgrades.
In a statement posted to the district website Wednesday, Interim Superintendent Craig Chapman assured parents and guardians that the work is a sign of “progress in action.”
“We recognize that these updates may cause some temporary inconvenience, but we’re confident the long-term benefits will be well worth the wait,” Chapman wrote. “Our goal is to create a safer, more efficient, and welcoming environment for every student and family.”
PryorMorrow Principal Architect Jose Arellano, who is overseeing the bond projects, said the ongoing work at Sale and Cook elementaries is focused on finishing life safety updates, specifically installing new sprinkler systems at the schools.
At Stokes-Beard Elementary, HVAC repairs are underway, and bathrooms from each of the three elementary schools are being updated to comply with the American with Disabilities Act, Chapman said.
From a construction standpoint, Arellano said the ongoing projects pose no risk that would require relocating students.
“We were able to get the renovation projects to do most of the work during the summer,” Arellano said. “And then (after) kids returned (Thursday), all work would happen after hours, nights and weekends.”
Chapman said it isn’t unusual for students to be in school at the same time as ongoing construction, citing roofing and HVAC installation using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund projects after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the district is making efforts to ensure students remain unaffected, he said, including removing access to areas under construction.
“We did isolate those areas from students, so those students or faculty and staff are not in those areas,” he said. “… But as far as the relocation of any particular classrooms or anything of that matter, we did not have to relocate. I feel like the construction teams did a great job of ensuring that they completed the main parts of the project prior to the start of school.”
Both Chapman and Board of Trustees President Robert Smith told The Dispatch they have received feedback from concerned parents and teachers about the construction this week, with both giving assurances that it’s safe for students to return to school.
State law required the district to perform asbestos testing before starting any of the projects. Testing started in the summer and has since wrapped up, but parents took to social media Thursday to express concerns that testing was still underway.
“They had a sign to my understanding where they were testing for asbestos prior to construction, and the sign was still there,” Smith said. “So that’s why someone was saying asbestos was in the building … but they just had the sign up there that they were testing for asbestos.”
Chapman said there was asbestos detected in one classroom at Cook Elementary in the summer, but it has been abated. Asbestos wasn’t detected anywhere else, he said.
Chapman said he spent the start of the week meeting with faculty and staff to hear their concerns and fill them in on how construction may affect operations during the coming months.
“I’ve heard from a few parents concerning it, but I think providing them with updates and what’s happening and ensuring the safety for their students has really made a difference,” he said. “Being able to communicate firsthand with those teachers and administrators about keeping them updated helps a lot.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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