July 13, 2005 – Although rumors continue to circulate that Guy Benjamin School in Coral Bay is closing, Education Department spokesman Juel Anderson said that just isn't so.
Instead, she said Wednesday the school is adding a sixth grade because the need is there. She said the school hasn't had a sixth grade for several years.
However, she added that the school is eliminating kindergarten. "There were only two students," she said.
She said those students will be bused to Julius E. Sprauve School in Cruz Bay.
Lorelei Monsanto, a past president of the Guy Benjamin Parent Teachers Organization, said Wednesday she looks forward to the day when the Education Department builds the long-awaited school for all the island's students. It is expected that when that happens, both Guy Benjamin and Sprauve will close.
"The bottom line is they have to decide when and where," she said.
St. John Administrator Julien Harley said Wednesday that the National Park Service and the local government continue to negotiate an exchange of land. He said the government hopes to obtain park land at Catherineberg in exchange for a yet-to-be decided government-owned parcel.
In other Guy Benjamin news, a group of volunteers from the Coral Bay Yacht Club, the Coral Bay Community Council and the Guy Benjamin PTO plan to refurbish the playground.
"We have 40 volunteers signed up," Coral Bay Community Council President Sharon Coldren said.
She said the yacht club raised $8,500 for the project through its Flotilla fundraiser earlier this year.
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