Oct. 29, 2006 — The Board of Education met on St. Croix Saturday to take care of several items of business and again chide the education commissioner for not appearing or producing documents it had requested.
"It's frustrating, it's disrespectful," said Jorge "Tito" Galiber, a board member who wasted no time expressing his displeasure at the absence of Education Commissioner Noreen Michael. "We discuss education, and there is no representative of education at this meeting."
When subpoenaed to the June meeting, Galiber said, Michael told the board that in 10 days she would send them information regarding school reconstruction, corrective action taken over the summer and an update on the Positive Connections Alternative School.
Galiber suggested subpoenaing the commissioner again. Board member Terrance D. Joseph, however, offered a motion to ask Michael again for the information and "to move for more aggressive action" if she doesn't produce it. The board approved Joseph's motion.
The board also learned it would soon get a new chairperson. Judy Gomez announced that she would not seek another term, saying an election would take place at the next board meeting. Members failed to calendar the next general meeting, pending confirmation of a date when all members could attend.
The board, meeting in the Casino Control office, voted to award 73 certificates to 57 teachers in the St. Thomas-St. John district and 54 certificates to 44 teachers in the St. Croix district, bringing them into compliance with the federally mandated No Child Left Behind Act. Several teachers received multiple certificates.
In her executive director's report, Carol Henneman said all board members have been given a copy of the third-party fiduciary agreement signed by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull in August. Other items in Hennemans' report were the awarding of the Morris DeCastro scholarship to Rebecca Falkner, inquiries into larger St. Croix office space and additional staff for the St. Thomas office.
The board reported on the approval of its report, which was developed at a recent three-day workshop attended by members. The report includes work concluded by the board in the current year, long-range plans, a one-year action plan and the board's mission statement. Members will deliver the report to the incoming administration.
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