A Leflore County grand jury report on substandard and potentially dangerous conditions at Leflore County High School and Leflore County Elementary School has prompted quick action from the school district, the district’s conservator said.
The report, compiled in January, was initially presented to the Leflore County Board of Supervisors. The report covers all county-owned buildings.
“Those things that were on there that could be fixed, they fixed them,” said Dr. Ilean Richards, the conservator of the school district.
Richards gave a copy of the report to Steve Riley, the district’s maintenance director, on Monday. She also gave copies to the principals of both schools.
She said she happened to be visiting the school when the grand jury was inspecting.
Richards said one of the deficiencies reported was that there were no faucets in the girls’ bathrooms.
“In a couple of restrooms, they were replacing faucets. They were working on the faucets when the students were not there,” she said.
Riley said it is often easier to replace faucets than to try to repair them. “All the bathrooms are working,” he said.
He said some of the conditions cited in the report can be attributed to the age of the buildings. The main high school building was built in the 1930s. The junior high was built in 1941, and other buildings were built in 1958, Riley said.
Specifically, the report noted the high school’s auditorium floor needs waxing.
Richards said the floor needs to be stripped and that cannot be done with students in the building because of noxious fumes associated with stripping.
Riley said another item on the list, the carpet runners in the auditorium, will be replaced once school is out.
The report also mentioned weak floors at the school, but Richards said that cannot be fixed easily because the school lacks a concrete foundation.
Richards said the district has made strides to correct deficiencies.
Recently, she said, the high school cafeteria was painted and all new furniture was installed.
A reported leak in the cafeteria also has been repaired.
Riley said the report’s mention of mold in the elementary school is incorrect.
“It’s not mildew. The return air is mounted in the roof. It sucks the return air across the ceiling. It’s dust,” he said.
Air quality tests have been conducted at the school and have revealed no problems, Riley said.
The report said the high school had dry rot in the main hallway.
“The dry rotting in the hallway was very vague. Was that the walls? The ceiling? Or the floor?” Riley said.
The report noted that a door frame was missing, but he said, “We already had that repaired before we got the list.”
Riley said another item on the report, the former boiler room at the junior high, was not an issue since it has no access for students and has no functioning utilities, including gas.
The report also noted a sinkhole in the road at school. Riley said several potholes exist, and “it was going to be close to $200,000 to repair that driveway.”
The state balked at that price tag, and the county has done some patching to help the district, he said.
Riley said the report mentioned that water was not working in the elementary school.
“It may be a drinking fountain or two that are out,” he said, adding that they are between six and eight water fountains in each hallway.
Riley said non-functioning light switches and electrical outlets at the elementary school mentioned in the reports have been fixed.
•Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
2017 grand jury report on Leflore County schools
