Jill Schramm/MDN Portable classrooms sit next to Jim Hill Middle School Tuesday. On blocks at left is one of two new portables arriving for the fall term.

Jim Hill Middle School will be getting two more portable classrooms as a temporary measure by Minot Public School District to handle overcrowding.

The Minot City Council on Monday approved a five-year permit to allow the portable classrooms after discussing whether to require a central fire alarm system. Council members had concern over the flammability of portables and the potential for a fire to quickly spread among portables and to a main building.

“The absence of good fire safety really bothers me,” council member Stephan Podrygula said.

However, the council voted down a proposal to require a central alarm system.

“The best I can do is ask the school board to look at it,” council member Lisa Olson said. “I don’t feel that’s our authority to put that on them, but I certainly recommend they look at it.”

An alarm system would have applied only to the two new portables and not other portables existing in the school district.

When oil activity boomed in the Minot region, so did the use of portable classrooms by Minot schools. However, the number of portables in the district has declined significantly from a high of 25 classrooms.

“Our portable use is an exception. It’s no longer the rule,” Supt. Mark Vollmer said Tuesday.

The greatest need for space has been at Jim Hill. The two new portables will bring the total to seven to accommodate growth of around 85 additional students this fall. Other portables at elementary schools are used for specialty classes and are not regular classrooms, Vollmer said.

Jared Edwards, facilities manager for the school district, said the manufactured units meet national safety and building codes and are fire-rated structures, specially designed for school use. The construction of the new portables likely meets higher standards than the older homes in the Jim Hill neighborhood, he said.

Minot Fire Department gave its approval to the portables during the Minot Planning Commission’s consideration and approval of the permit request.

The alarm system discussed by the city council goes beyond code requirements, but school officials say it is a system that could be explored. Jim Hill Middle School does have that type of alarm system in its main building so emergency dispatch and school officials receive immediate notification of any fire. In addition to alarm systems within the main building, there is an external alarm that notifies the immediate area of any apparent fire within the building.

Council members Paul Pitner and Josh Wolsky advocated for the school to move away from the use of portable classrooms.

“We are treating the symptom,” Wolsky said. “The real solution to this is getting these kids out of these structures.”

Council member Stephan Podrygula said the school, city and parks, which share a tax base, need to work together to identify priorities for community tax dollars, and the school’s building needs must be part of that discussion.

Podrygula and Pitner, who both voted for the alarm system, voted against approval of the portables, which passed 5-2.

After defeating a bond issue for building construction in 2013, voters approved a scaled back bond issue for the school district in 2014. Vollmer said the school board continues to discuss ways to address ongoing building needs and fund new construction. Although the coronavirus pandemic has sidetracked those talks, discussion will be resuming.

“This has been weighing heavily on our board and our administration. We are very much aware of the overcrowding and we know we need to move some things forward,” Vollmer said. “These portables, while needed right now, are not part of the permanent solution to dealing with the growth of our community.”