Six facilities that house students in the Columbus Municipal School District lack safety measures as basic as a working fire alarm system.
Sale Elementary, Fairview Elementary, Cook Elementary, Franklin Academy, Columbus High School and Union Success Academy, which is home to the district’s alternative school, each lack some degree of proper life safety measures like fire alarms, automatic sprinkler systems, doors compliant with the 1990 American Disabilities Act or working security cameras.
As the district gears up to ask taxpayers for approval of a bond to fund $36 million in facility improvements, Superintendent Stanley Ellis said addressing these safety issues is a top priority.
“It doesn’t matter how these measures were skipped or overlooked in the past 60 years,” Ellis told The Dispatch in an email. “What matters is we need to protect the students and staff of CMSD. We need to get these safety measures put in place as soon as possible.”
Most of the buildings in the district are more than 60 years old, meaning several were built to adhere to antiquated safety standards.
The first Mississippi Fire Prevention Code was based on the 1976 standard Fire Prevention Code. Franklin, Fairview, Cook, Union, Sale and the Caldwell portion of the high school were all built before the first code was adopted.
School buildings constructed before new regulations are enacted are usually grandfathered into certain fire and safety codes unless they undergo significant renovations.
Ellis said any additions made to the schools over time were constructed to code, but the original portions of some buildings, like at the high school, were not updated to meet the same regulations.
“The district has done a great job with capital improvements since 2019 and made needed changes throughout the district that were within budget,” he said. “However, a feasibility study done earlier may have revealed we were out of code sooner. Even so, the district still wouldn’t have had the needed funds to address all the safety concerns.”
Ellis said the district plans to dedicate the majority of the $36 million bond to address and upgrade safety concerns.
A vote on the bond, which could come as quickly as May, would require 60-percent voter approval. The board, however, has not yet approved a resolution to place it on the ballot.
If approved, it would keep roughly 11.85 in debt service mills on the tax rolls that are set to retire in April. The retiring bond issue, passed in 2009, funded Columbus Middle School’s construction.
If voters reject the bond, it would save homeowners about $118.50 per $100,000 of property value next year.
“We’re in the stage of allocating funds and prioritizing projects,” Ellis said. “Provided the bond passes, the architect firm will detail the process, timeline, etc. on how we phase these upgrades. We need to make sure each facility is up to code and that all students and staff are safe.”
Unsafe conditions
The district commissioned architectural firm PryorMorrow in December to conduct a full facilities study and identify necessary improvements like fire protection and life safety measures.
According to the report, none of the district’s facilities aside from Stokes-Beard Elementary, Columbus Middle School, the addition to Columbus High School and both additions at Sale and Cook meet the required accessibility standards determined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Sale, Fairview, Cook, Columbus High, Franklin and Union do not have a working or proper fire alarm system. Columbus Middle School is the only facility with an automatic fire sprinkler system. All of the schools have working intercom systems, but only Columbus High, Columbus Middle, Franklin, Stokes-Beard, Union and McKellar Technology Center have security cameras installed, according to PryorMorrow’s report.
Ellis said he is unaware of any incidents that have occurred due to the lack of safety measures. Because all of the facilities have intercom systems and most are equipped with security cameras, the district is somewhat prepared for emergencies.
“So we can monitor if there’s an emergency and our crisis management plans help administrators follow steps to ensure all students and staff are safe,” he said. “We’ve held routine fire and lockdown drills, and during these scenarios, staff and students have all remained safe and aware of protocol.”
During fire drills, and presumably if an actual fire occurred, schools without alarms use the intercom, Ellis’ email said.
Cost of safety
When the district received the results of the facilities study, the total cost of necessary improvements totaled $96 million. It was a sobering realization that the district had a lot of work to do.
“The feasibility study opened the Board of Trustees and the administrative team’s eyes,” Ellis wrote. “We knew we needed to make facility upgrades, we knew it was time, but we weren’t aware it would come to that high of a price tag.”
According to PryorMorrow’s original estimates for life safety and fire protection updates, bringing the five schools up to standard would cost roughly $12.4 million. The highest costs would be at Cook, Columbus High School and Franklin. None of the three schools have a proper fire alarm system, an automatic fire sprinkler system or ADA-compliant doors.
In some cases, installing an automatic sprinkler system would reduce the requirement to update other safety measures, like installing new emergency windows. All buildings in the district other than Columbus Middle School, Stokes-Beard Elementary and Franklin Academy need a sprinkler system.
Ellis said the district plans to install a state-of-the-art fire alarm system at Franklin rather than installing a sprinkler system.
“We are not cutting corners on safety,” Ellis said. “To ensure taxes do not increase, we’re doing the most efficient upgrades district-wide without compromising the safety of our staff and students.”
With much of the bond going toward safety measures, Ellis said there is less room to make elective improvements. He said the board will shift less pertinent items to a second phase of the facilities update. The district will look toward outside sources, like grants and donations, to fund those updates.
“We hoped the bond would allow us to make needed changes and allow us to add a few elective improvements as well,” he said. “That wasn’t the case. The case is we have students in facilities that must be upgraded, and those necessary upgrades total about $36 million.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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