Following death of student, Poplar Bluff School District reviews safety measures

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Poplar Bluff School District is continuing to take steps to ensure the safety of its students following the death of an Early Childhood student. Feb. 1, a wall-mounted table fell and struck 4-year-old Bradley Sullivan.

The wall-mounted tables were removed from the Early Childhood Center after the district's property and liability insurance provider, Missouri United School Insurance Council (MUSIC), finished its on-site investigation earlier this month.

During the on-site investigation by MUSIC, superintendent Scott Dill said the tables locked and "didn't budge."

No explanation has been found as to why the wall-mounted table fell and is being described as a "tragic accident."

MUSIC also completes assessments of the district's buildings on a regular basis "with a fine-tooth comb," Dill said, to address any issues.

Recently-installed chains are seen hanging over wall-mounted tables at O'Neal Elementary School in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, as a precaution following the death of a student at the Early Childhood Center.Brian Rosener ~ Daily American Republic

According to officials, the last time the tables were used was during the building's Thanksgiving dinner.

The Early Childhood Center and O'Neal Elementary used the exact same type of tables, made by the same manufacturer and installed in 1987, Dill added.

It was discovered during the district's investigation that the tables' manufacturer, Rol-Fol Table Inc., had gone out of business.

According to director of maintenance Alan Ursery's records, three work orders were submitted in the past five years on the tables at the Early Childhood Center.

Ursery's staff was able to complete repairs without the need to obtain specialty parts from the manufacturer. The repairs included universal items, such as wheels.

The empty frame of a wall-mounted cafeteria table is seen at O'Neal Elementary School in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. The table was removed following the death of a student Feb. 1 at the Early Childhood Center.Brian Rosener ~ Daily American Republic

The same tables were also used in the old Kinyon School, and when the district sold the building, there was a stockpile of parts from those tables.

Since the removal of the tables from the Early Childhood multipurpose room, the empty areas have been filled with quarter-inch plywood frame mounted into the wall. Banners featuring students, staff and parents will hang from those areas.

The room has also received a different coat of paint color for a new look and feel when it reopens.

"We don't want (the room) to look like it did before," Dill said.

Students are eating lunch in their classrooms and the multipurpose room is not being used at this time.

Dill added he expects the room to reopen in about two weeks, but will also factor in the emotional well-being of everyone involved.

"Ultimately, it will take as long as it takes," he said.

Once students transition back to the multipurpose room, Dill said free-standing tables will be used for the students' remainder of time in the building, ahead of the completion of the new Early Childhood Center.

Grief counseling services are available to students, parents, teachers and anyone else who needs assistance.

"When there is an accident, there is a tremendous amount of guilt about what should have been done or could have been done differently," he said. "If anyone thought there was any issue, it would have been reported, but it still keeps you up at night."

O'Neal Elementary

Since the accident, the wall-mounted tables were removed from an older portion of O'Neal Elementary School, which is no longer used as a cafeteria, the same weekend.

The removed wall-mounted tables were installed in the D Building of O'Neal in 1987.

Since the tables were not being used as part of O'Neal's regular routine and no longer replaceable if they were identified as out of operational order, the logical decision was to remove them, according to Dill.

Wall-mounted tables are still in the Federal Emergency Management Agency Safe Room of O'Neal, which were installed in 2009, but now feature an extra layer of security, as do the tables in the other three elementary schools in the district.

Chains have been placed across the tables. When the tables are in use, the chains are strung across the wall so they are not dangling to create another problem.

"If (the table) happened to not be secured, it has no place to go and would catch on the chain," Dill said.

In addition to the chains, the tables are held in place by two locks at the bottom, which require a key, a pin lock across the top and a flip butterfly latch.

The wall-mounted tables, used in multipurpose rooms across the state, are designed to take hits from balls and children playing, Dill said.

The newer tables also feature a mechanism that can't be operated by just anyone with the locks requiring a key.

"We believe the safety features are solid and we can get replacement parts," he said. "With the additional safety features of the chains, we feel they are safe for the facility."

Oak Grove Elementary

The wall-mounted tables at Oak Grove Elementary School are similar to the newer tables at O'Neal, but a tool rather than a key is required to release the tables from the bottom.

In addition to adding chains across the tables at Oak Grove as well, they also feature a "V" receptacle at the top securing the table into the wall.

The wall-mounted tables at O'Neal, Oak Grove and Eugene Field all feature hydraulics to ease the table's descent from the wall when released.

The older wall-mounted tables at the Early Childhood Center and O'Neal were gravity assisted.

Safety checks

A district-wide check of all the wall-mounted tables and safety latches was conducted the weekend after the accident.

Dill said tables were pulled from use if there was any question about their safety.

During the check, about five tables were pulled from use at Eugene Elementary School and will not be used until they are fixed and the district feels they are safe.

Nothing with any of the tables was found beyond "normal repair requests," but Dill said given the level of scrutiny in looking at the tables, they were pulled from service.

Repair requests submitted to Ursery and his staff are kept so the district can make determinations at what point items need to be replaced, rather than fixed.

"If we have touched on an item multiple times, I'm a firm believer it's time to start looking at replacement costs versus cost of man hours, replacement parts and repairing," Dill said. "Our guys do an amazing job and anytime something is brought to attention and gets work ordered, they take care of it."

District-wide updates

With structures in the school district being built from 1951 to 2016, something can always be updated or repaired.

"It's an ongoing process," Dill said. "There is always something that needs fixed or can be better than it is."

The last list of long-term projects will be completed with the construction of the Early Childhood Center and Mark Twain School plans to house the Alternative School.

The district is putting together a new master list of long-term projects, Dill said.

In the creation of this list, Dill added he wants the district to shift to preventative maintenance mode, rather than reactive maintenance mode to ensure buildings remain for generations to come.

Safety within the school district is everyone's job, he said, including parents and partnership with the community.

"There is always something that needs to be done and no one person sees everything," he said.

Going forward, Dill said he understands the fears people have when their children are in the district's hands, but assures the schools are safe places.

"If I didn't feel that, we wouldn't be operating," he said.

In addition, his own children are students in the district and he wants the same for them as all other students -- to be happy and learning.

"My people are engaged on a daily basis ensuring the buildings are up to specifications," he said.