The county board of education shall comply with all building regulations the County Council adopts for the regional district. The county board of education shall provide: fire escapes for all school buildings in use before May 7, 1943, if the buildings are more than one story in height; and fire escapes for all buildings constructed on or after May 7, 1943. If the county board of education does not comply with this title, the County Council may contract for the performance of the work and deduct costs incurred for the work from the amount allocated for the support of schools in the county.