Old Hunt School building ruled a total loss after Saturday’s tornado

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The Columbus Success Academy, formerly known as Hunt Intermediate School, has been ruled a total loss after Saturday’s tornado tore through the friendly city.

Members of the school board as well as members of the community all agree on one thing: Hunt School was a center education and culture.

The school holds sentimental value in the hearts of many people in Columbus and they hope to see it restored.

“Hunt High, R.E. Hunt High, was the mecca of the community. We did…Everything happened here. I mean, it means a lot to the community. 20th Street was kind of the centerpiece for the black community,” said District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks.

“Even during summer months, as a kid here in Columbus, this place would be bumper to bumper traffic, you had baseball; the community was involved and everybody was supporting everybody,” said Columbus Municipal School District Vice President Fredrick Sparks.

The school was destroyed during Saturday’s severe weather outbreak.

Columbus Municipal School District Superintendent Dr. Cherie Labat says the school board wants to preserve anything salvageable.

“We’re in the process of working with the insurance company to assess the damage. We’re also working to move all of our fixed assets and salvage any fixed assets that we have and relocate them to a heating and cooled facility,” said Labat.

Brooks says he hopes to see the school returned to its cultural status in the community.

“If we’re not going to rebuild the school, I would like to see a major center here that could also serve as a storm shelter or a gym. I think we’re just going to have to dream about what we’d like to see and come up with the best plan,” said Brooks.

Dr. Labat, however, says the school board has already come to a decision.

“Oh, we’re definitely going to rebuild as my trustees understand that this community is important to us. It’s important for us to provide not only the services that we provide to the community but to our students to rebuild this,” said Labat.

School Board members see the tragic event as a positive opportunity.

“It’s a sense of loss, but it also provides an opportunity for the community as a whole to take a step back and look at things through a different lens. It gives the community an opportunity to move forward together and also preserve the history of the community as a whole,” said Sparks.

“Schools and churches help define your community and certainly ours helped define our community,” said Brooks.

Currently, the students at the Columbus Success Academy are being bused over to Columbus High School.