POND ISLAND – Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Silveria Jacobs met with management and staff of the Leonald Conner School (LCS) on Wednesday, January 18, to disseminate information on the way forward.
Management and staff of LCS have been dispersed to Dr. Martin Luther King, Marie Genevieve de Weever, Ruby Labega and the Prins Willem Alexander Schools since November 2016, and the former Charles Leopold Bell (CLB) School as of December 2016.
The move was intended to last approximately 4-6 weeks, however, independent studies and financial assistance for the repairs at LCS are taking longer than expected. Management and staff of the LCS voiced their opinions on the current situation and came up with some short-term solutions to assist with the situation. Minister Jacobs sympathized with them as she understands the current struggles they are faced with and guaranteed them that things will improve.
Minister Jacobs informed the management and staff that during the Council of Ministers meeting with the various industrial companies situated in the Cay Bay area that all companies pledged to assist financially with regard to the electrical updates and A/C installations at the LCS.
NV GEBE, one of the companies which pledged to finance the emergency repairs, has included it in their 2017 budget. The project is expected to commence shortly and is projected to take approximately 4-6 weeks for completion. The Ministry of VSA has also enlisted the services of PAHO (Pan American Health Organization) to conduct an in-depth independent study in the Cay Bay area to ascertain the possible health risks.
NV GEBE has also conducted a study as to the air quality and is awaiting the final report, while the Ministry of VROMI has also pledged to conduct an independent study to this effect.
Minister Jacobs stressed that the situation at LCS and the Cay Bay area has the full attention of government and is a priority for the Ministry ECYS as well as the Ministries VSA and VROMI.
Minister Jacobs will also visit the CLB School to get a first-hand view of the challenges the management and staff are faced with at that location.
