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SENATOR MALONE TOURS ST. THOMAS SCHOOLS WITH EDUCATION MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR
Aug. 6, 2003 – On Saturday, August 2, 2003, Senator Malone and the Supervisor of Maintenance, Louis Hughes, toured all the public schools on St. Thomas in an effort to ascertain if they are prepared to facilitate returning students.
As the Department of Education grapples with re-accreditation initiatives and the beginning of yet another school year, Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Education and Youth, Senator Malone contacted the Supervisor of Maintenance in an effort to get an accurate picture of the state of the schools in the St. Thomas District. "I have received a number of calls inquiring as to the condition of the Island's public schools. Parents have highlighted conditions that existed in the previous school year and wanted to know if certain irregularities still existed. As an elected representative, I ventured to see if I could allay some of the concerns brought to my attention with an on sight visit," Senator Malone stated.
Senator Malone was made cognizant of ongoing repairs school maintenance crews have been affecting since May – fixing cosmetic problems as well as in depth electrical work. "One of the major concerns plaguing our schools is their inability to provide students with the computer technology needed to truly catapult VI students into the information age. The electrical work in progress is needed to support new computer systems as well as the air conditioning system necessary to accommodate the computers and the student's classroom environment," Senator Malone said.
Beginning August 12, all schools will be undergoing landscaping initiatives. Addelita Cancryn, Joseph Gomez, and Ivanna Eudora Kean had work crews onsite implementing a number of electrical and structural repairs. Emmanuel Benjamin Oliver (EBO) recently installed a brand new caterpillar generator that can power the entire school during power outages. Evelyn Marcelli recently had an additional restroom installed for Kindergarten students to ease congestion, while Addelita Cancryn is undergoing extensive roof repairs. CAHS needs six burnt classrooms repaired immediately "With the infusion of federal dollars to address school repairs, I was assured by Mr. Hughes all of the schools will be ready to open on August 25, 2003, however, Addelita Cancryn, CAHS and Joseph Gomez are the only schools that seem to be behind schedule and may not be completed in their entirety by the scheduled opening date. I am extremely pleased, however, that we are managing the federal dollars earmarked for this initiative wisely and eliminating the customary practice of contracting out work for a "summer school maintenance program", thus saving tax payers money while accomplishing the same goal. We have precluded what would have been an additional and costly burden on the General Fund," Senator Malone concluded.
