The state of Colorado has done an unconscionably poor job of overseeing the construction of K-12 public schools.
New schools are being built without proper fire sprinkler systems, not enough doors for kids to get out in an emergency, and inadequate fire walls, according to a new, 93- page report from State Auditor Sally Symanski.
The report details multiple failures in the school planning and inspection process and makes it easy to imagine how a disaster could come about. The situation should send a chill down the spine of anyone who cares about the safety of Colorado schoolchildren.
At issue is the performance of a division of the state Department of Labor and Employment, which has been responsible since 1964 for ensuring safe public school construction. However, the Division of Oil and Public Safety has been doing only the most cursory building-plan review and on-site inspections, according to the audit.
For instance, the division’s pitifully small staff of two full-timers has spent only 12 to 14 hours reviewing plans for a typical medium-sized new school. An expert hired by the state auditor estimated it should take 78 hours for such a review. Furthermore, that project should get 200 on-site inspections. The division has been conducting two. That’s an indefensible dereliction of duty.
In the audit, which mostly covers 2006, the division says it is understaffed. But it doesn’t explain why department administrators allowed the situation to develop or how long it has been going on.
To his credit, Don Mares, the recently appointed executive director of the Department of Labor and Employment, said he would use the audit as a springboard for overhauling the division.
The auditor’s report, conducted with a rigor and scrutiny that served the public well, included many good suggestions for the department as well as the state legislature. Among them, the division should raise its fees to be in line with actual costs of inspections and the fees charged by other public agencies. It should consider contracting out plan review and site work to public or private agencies. Or it could delegate authority and inspection fees to local building departments.
The effort to address the problem ought to begin immediately and should include a review of schools already approved to see whether they meet standards. It’s not too much to expect that children attend safely built schools. It is incumbent upon our public officials to ensure it.
