District 11 pauses Jenkins Middle School operations after fire-inspection concerns; students to relocate to Doherty and Russell

The Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education on Tuesday heard a special report on structural and fire‑safety concerns at Jenkins Middle School and approved short‑term relocations for students while the district pursues repairs.

Superintendent Goll said a December fire inspection revealed that settling in the building’s seventh‑ and eighth‑grade wing has begun to impair passive fire mitigation (metal fire doors and related systems), prompting the district to move classes temporarily. "The fire department's inspection this year revealed that they had long term concerns with the ways that the building has mitigated that risk," Goll said, and the district has contracted a professional firm, at the Colorado Springs Fire Department's recommendation, to assess the building.

District officials told the board the immediate plan is to split Jenkins’ roughly 800 students across two nearby schools: sixth graders will go to Russell Middle School and seventh and eighth graders to Doherty High School. The district plans to close Jenkins, Doherty and Russell for at…