Parents and students press McDowell County Schools over Old Fort repairs; operations director outlines remediation and timeline

McDowell County Schools Superintendent Tracy Grit and operations staff faced more than an hour of public comment on Feb. 10 about Old Fort Elementary School’s prolonged closure and the district’s decision to relocate students to Pleasant Gardens Elementary.

The most urgent concerns raised by parents, a student and a former staff member involved crowding, heating and bathroom access at the temporary site; reports that some classrooms have no windows; and a lack of regular, detailed updates from district leadership. In response, Chad Marsh, the district’s director of operations and auxiliary services, detailed cleanup work, contractor involvement and remaining tasks and said the district is aiming for the Old Fort building to be available for the 2025–26 school year but cannot guarantee a date.

Why it matters: Old Fort students and staff have been working in shared spaces at Pleasant Gardens since damage from last year’s storm. Parents and students told the board that the move has disrupted instruction, reduced access to cafeteria and gym facilities and hurt student morale and grades. The district’s remediation requires coordination with contractors, insurance adjusters and federal responders, and parents pressed the board for clearer timelines and communication.

Parents and students pressed the board: Susan Chavez, a fourth-grade parent at Old Fort Elementary, told the board she “expects honesty, transparency and empathy” after what she called conflicting messages about the extent of damage. Chavez said district public statements and what parents see on the ground do not match and that parents need clear, frequent updates.

Several other speakers described specific classroom and safety problems. Mindy Duncan cited North Carolina administrative code 8.1343 on classroom facilities and said rooms at Old Fort’s temporary location lack adequate heat, accessible bathrooms and windows; she asked whether staff have keys needed for lockdowns. Beth Price, a former instructional assistant who is a parent, said students are forced to “eat in their classrooms” and sometimes receive cold or incomplete lunches. Fourth grader John Michael Travis told the board that his class “gets very distracted” by noise from rooms above the basement classroom and asked the board to help students return to Old Fort before upcoming testing.

Megan Bartlett delivered an anonymous packet of parent and staff comments and urged the district to improve communication and include parents and staff in reopening plans.

Public-safety and emergency-response praise, and context: Sheriff Ricky Buchanan and William Keller, director of emergency services, commended school staff and first responders for their response to a Jan. 21 “swatting” call at McDowell High School and for the county’s mutual aid work during last year’s storm and wildfires. Their remarks framed the community’s broader emergency-coordination capacity while parents focused on school-specific concerns.

Operations update from Chad Marsh: Chad Marsh told the board he has visited Old Fort “twice a week” since taking the post and provided a step-by-step account of cleanup and repairs so far. He said contractors from BELFOR and others have completed initial cleaning (removal of mud and silt), inspected and restored electrical panels and lighting, replaced or cleaned HVAC components not located on the building exterior, and removed damaged carpet and luxury vinyl tile from the first floor. Marsh said the terrazzo floor has been protected under paper and will be cleaned prior to a re‑opening.

Marsh listed specific items still to finish: replacement or substantial repair of 13 exterior mini-split HVAC units; replacement of more than 60 interior doors that swelled after water exposure (district estimate: about a 10‑week lead time for ordered doors); installation of new base trim, repaired drywall and fresh paint in affected spaces; and replacement and finishing of the gym floor, where he said first coats of sealant were applied during the week of Feb. 10.

Marsh also said the district identified a remediation need along the bank of Mill Creek adjacent to the building and has engaged a contractor working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to remove debris from the creek and banks. He said that portion of the work must be done “by hand” in places to avoid foundation damage and cannot be completed by district maintenance alone. Marsh stressed that the district will not allow students back into the building “until we are sure that what they’re going to breathe when they walk out that door is safe.”

Nutrition, transportation and other operational details: Marsh said child-nutrition staff have prepared food on-site for Old Fort students now housed at Pleasant Gardens; about 175 breakfasts and 200 lunches are packed and delivered to the temporary classrooms each day, with roughly 20 of each meal sent to pre-K students. He said the district’s child-nutrition operation has prepared nearly 500,000 meals this school year. Transportation director Will Thomas recently added four new buses to the fleet; Marsh said the district runs about 60 buses on 60 routes, covering roughly 3,600 miles daily.

Sewer and wastewater concerns: Board members asked about the Old Fort sewer treatment plant. Marsh said it took a “hard hit” in the storm, was reopened, and later experienced additional problems; he said he would follow up with the town for current status and report back to the board because wastewater capacity must be assured before re‑occupying the building.

Timeline and next steps: Marsh said many repairs are in progress and he continues to oversee remediation and contractor mobilization; he told the board he saw no reason in his professional opinion that Old Fort would not be available for the 2025–26 school year, but he would not guarantee a reopening before that. He also said some work—particularly creekbank remediation and exterior mechanical work—depends on outside contractors, insurance approvals and federal coordination, which introduces schedule risk.

What the board directed or decided: The board heard public comment and received Marsh’s facilities report. Board members thanked Marsh for weekly updates and asked him to continue providing frequent, factual reports to the board and to parents. No final date for re‑occupancy was set during the meeting; Marsh said the district would report progress in coming weeks.

Votes at a glance: The board also took several routine votes during the meeting. The board unanimously approved an agenda amendment adding an overnight travel request for the NJROTC academic team to the consent agenda; the board unanimously accepted the annual audit as presented; the board approved commitment of $220,000 toward audio‑visual upgrades at McDowell Technical Community College’s auditorium (the board discussed sharing roughly half the estimated $435,000 project cost; two board members recused themselves because they identified themselves as employees of the college); and the board approved the full consent agenda. (See Actions table below for motions, outcomes and vote tallies.)

Community reaction and expectations: Parents said they want clearer, regular communication and stronger interim measures to reduce student disruption at Pleasant Gardens. Marsh and the superintendent told the board they will continue to update the board and public as remediation progresses.

The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled in March; according to district staff, facilities updates and timelines for Old Fort will be included in future reports.