As bond-funded projects continue at Columbus Municipal School District, the board of trustees is starting to consider how the district’s unused facilities can be repurposed.
The district is set to have three vacant facilities after this school year, once Fairview Academy closes and CMSD’s shift to grade-span learning is complete.
The board during its regular meeting Monday made plans for a work session to discuss repurposing the Fairview, Franklin and Union Success Academy campuses.
“Considering the complexity of working on buildings that we’ve shut down, I think it might be a good idea to start with Franklin because that’s the most complicated one,” Trustee Josie Shumake told the board. “Since we’ll have (Jose Arellano with PryorMorrow) there, he can give us a good status of what the building is like and what it’s going to need to get up to snuff as it were.”
Franklin closed in May in line with the district’s plan to consolidate its five elementary schools and shift to grade-span learning, meaning each campus will house certain grades. Fairview Academy will be the last to close at the end of this school year. Union has been closed since 2008.
When PryorMorrow conducted a feasibility study into the district’s facilities, Franklin carried a price tag of about $12.9 million in needed repairs and renovations.
Interim Superintendent Craig Chapman told the board some efforts are already underway to weatherize the school building. The district has awarded a contract for roof repairs, he said.
Additionally, Shumake suggested inviting Jeff Turnage, city attorney for Columbus, and Ward 6 Councilman Jason Spears to the work session to discuss what the district can legally do with the property, which is located on 16th Section land, and how it could fit into the city’s broader plan for revitalizing the Fifth Street corridor between the Magnolia Bowl and the Highway 82 East on-ramp.
“(Spears) might be able to give us all an idea of what the future plans are for that corridor, of which I think Franklin would play a big piece … because it’s the entrance to Columbus,” Shumake said.
CMSD Public Information Officer Joey Barnes told The Dispatch on Tuesday the date for the work session has yet to be determined.
Bond-funded projects continue
During the same work session, the board will discuss plans for bond-funded projects at Columbus High School.
The $36 million bond issue, approved by taxpayers in May 2024, is funding facility improvements across three elementary schools, Columbus High School and the high school athletic complex.
Jose Arellano, principal architect for PryorMorrow, said renderings are in the works for additions to the athletic complex and for the new secure entryway at CHS, which will include two Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramps and a staircase leading to three sets of glass doors.
Arellano said a handful of the projects for Stokes-Beard, Cook and Sale elementaries are nearing completion.
At Cook, new life safety measures have been installed and inspected and lighting has been adjusted to meet compliance standards, Arellano said. Restroom renovations on the same campus that were previously delayed are now back on schedule, with tile work expected to be reviewed this week, he said.
The new fire alarm system at Sale has been installed and tested, though there are still some pending projects on the campus, including classroom door lock mechanisms delayed by the manufacturing company and additional security cameras still awaiting pricing.
The first shipment of pipe for the new sprinkler system at CHS arrives this week, Arellano said.
“(The) contractor has already mobilized and has already done some of the demolition in the classrooms, ceiling demolitions,” Arellano told the board. “They should start doing the pipe (Monday) afternoon, and it should be a smooth process as we move along.”
An HVAC replacement at Stokes-Beard has undergone final inspections, and once a few minor deficiencies are resolved, that project will close, Arellano said.
Also at Stokes-Beard, Arellano said the external gymnasium slated for the campus is currently in the design and development phase.
“That means mechanical, electrical, structural and civil engineers have already been involved, and they will start … proceeding with the project,” Arellano told the board. “We’re expecting to turn in the (design and development) by the end of this year, and hopefully by that time, we’ll have some interior renderings of what the gym could look like for the kindergarten and pre-K students here.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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