Rock Hill school board looks to move Head Start due to leaky roof, other issues

The Head Start building where 271 Rock Hill children attend preschool has a severely damaged, leaking roof and other issues that need to be fixed if it continues to be used, says a consultant.

Leaders with the Rock Hill school district, which owns the Edgewood Center on Russell Street and leases it to the federal program, say they want to sell thebuilding and move the program.

Rock Hill school board members were alarmed Monday, when a building inspection, commissioned by the district, showed not only roof problems, but potential issues with fire safety and fresh air ventilation.

Board Chairman Jim Vining said he was “appalled” Monday at some of the safety questions. He said he was reassured later in the week, after district leaders said an assessment that focused on the fire exits, the fire alarm system, mold and indoor air quality cited no health or safety issues.

Vining and board members Walter Brown and Helena Miller said after the most recent assessment the district needs to move Head Start out of Edgewood by this summer.

The three members said they believe the building is safe and can be used for the next few months.

However, Vining said, “I think the sooner we get them in a better housing facility, the better we will all be.”

Walter Kellogg, executive director of Carolina Community Actions, which operates Head Start, said he would like to see the program move to a newer building.

“We know it’s not structurally great,” Kellogg said. “I think it’s safe, it’s just not great. It’s old.” The building was constructed in 1954.

The report by J.M. Cope, a Rock Hill construction management firm, listed $4.6 million in renovations needed to use the building for five to 10 years, and up to $1 million to use it for six to 18 months.

The report cited “significant risk” associated with “a severely deteriorated roof” which is leaking and “may not endure another summer.”

Bill Klein, construction director with J.M. Cope, told board members he could not be certain the roof would last until the end of the current school year.

Klein also said leaks can cause soak walls, creating conditions for mold.

The report identified a “moderate risk” from safe exits in case of fire and a lack of fresh air for ventilation, due to an unventilated HVAC system installed by Head Start.

The report said fire safety exits should be evaluated, the fire alarm and emergency lighting should be tested and the potential air ventilation issues should be addressed.

One day after the school board received the J.M. Cope report, district leaders said health and safety tests were done, and the results submitted to board members.

A district reportsaid the fire alarm and emergency lighting is operating and two cafeteria fire exits, one leading outside and one into a hallway, meet current building codes.

Brian Vaughan, Rock Hill schools director of facilities, said the fire alarm system was replaced in 2012 and that two cafeteria fire exits are standard in most elementary schools. A third exit involves stairs and “calculations are being made to determine if exits need to be modified,” the report said.

A separate report by an industrial hygenist, Environmental Testing & Management Inc., found water-stained ceiling tiles, but no areas of mold growth.

That report said HVAC systems are unventilated, but “outdoor air is drawn into the building from a variety of locations where the building is not airtight.” The report did not recommend further air quality testing.

District leaders say they don’t see an immediate safety risk. However, Deputy Superintendent Tony Cox said the building’s useful life is short without costly improvements.

“It is an old building,” Cox said. “The building has roof problems; it has all of the problems that have been reported, and it’s in a condition that does not lend itself to continued occupancy beyond the next short while.”

The building’s assessed value is $1.1 million as of 2014. Officials said they would have to invest at least $1 million in repairs to continue use.

Superintendent Kelly Pew has proposed moving Head Start, which leases Edgewood for $1 a year in a district partnership, to the Children’s School at Sylvia Circle. A decision on that proposal could come as soon as the Feb. 22 school board meeting.

Pew said she does not believe fixing Edgewood is a good decision. She has recommended moving the program and selling the center.

That move would require moving third- to fifth-grade students in the Montessori program at the Children’s School to Ebenezer Avenue Elementary this fall to make room for Head Start. The change is one of several she is recommending for school choice programs.

Some parents in the Montessori program have questioned the need to move their children so quickly. The proposed move would split siblings in the Montessori program, sending them to different schools for at least a year.

Pew wants to build a center for Montessori instruction on the Ebenezer Avenue campus, and move the 3-year-old to second-grade students from the Children’s School to Ebenezer Avenue during the 2017-18 school year.

Kellogg said Head Start hasn’t seen serious issues with the building. He said a Head Start contractor conducted a health and safety review about a month ago, and did not report any issues, though he has not yet received a copy of that report.

Vining said he wishes decisions on the Edgewood building and those on the choice program were separated.

“The Edgewood situation should have been dealt with first,” he said. “But I’m not sure we’d be in a different place than we are today.

Brown said the board should decide both issues. “We know this building needs to be closed,” he said, “as soon as we can close it.”

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 9:01 PM.