Rush hour

The urgency to prepare for the new academic year was clear at several schools in southern Manchester last week. Many were still grappling with the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, which had caused significant damage to their facilities. School administrators anticipated a challenging week ahead as they worked to get everything ready by tomorrow.

The hurricane had left the south coast communities in disarray, with prolonged power outages. And with a chronic lack of potable water that has persisted for two decades, these areas rely on catchment tanks for their water needs.

The principals at three schools in particular faced significant obstacles. The hurricane had displaced several of their water tanks, which were still scattered across the school grounds. Contractors sent by the Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY) had only just begun making repairs in the last two weeks, and they told The Sunday Gleaner that instructions from the ministry were that all the schools should reopen on September 2.

With mosquitoes also swarming the compounds, the principals expressed hope that fumigation will be done ahead of reopening.

At Plowden Primary and Infant School, more than several feet of electrical wires carrying power from the roadway to the main building hung precariously last week, creating a significant hazard. There was clear fear in the eyes of the provisional principal, Karen Smith, as she hoped for a solution before Monday.

Issues of great concern

“We have some issues of great concern. The wires that are hanging down are a huge threat. It has to be fixed, and the matter has been reported to the relevant bodies. It can’t be hidden, it’s in the front of the school. Also, at the back, there needs to be repairs to the electricity system, as the connections to the infant department and grade one need urgent repairs. Failing that, there will be no light in the infant and grade one [sections],” she told The Sunday Gleaner.

From inside one of the classrooms, the view of the vast, clear, blue skies was unmistakable due to a large gap in the roof where a translucent covering had been dislodged by Hurricane Beryl. The rectangular opening, measuring about two feet by 18 inches, exposed the classroom to the elements.

With orders to report back on Monday, Smith planned to temporarily cover the opening with tarpaulin, although this would reduce the amount of natural light inside. If tarpaulin couldn’t be secured in time, a pan would be used to collect rainwater until repairs could be made.

Smith also noted that the fierce storm had blown down the plastic tanks and damaged the covering of a large catchment tank.

She is taking no chances.

“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. You just have to look away for a second,” she said, mulling over the work ahead as the clock winds down.

The Plowden Primary and Infant School, which was designated an emergency shelter during the hurricane, had one occupant remaining in a classroom up to Saturday.

The Manchester Parish Library served as a refuge for teachers needing to complete administrative tasks, but slow Internet speed due to high demand hampered their progress. As a result, some end-of-year reports for Plowden’s students remain unfinished, and the screening of kindergartners, which was supposed to occur before the school closure, will now start tomorrow.

Some seven kilometres away, workmen were busy painting and clearing the New Broughton Primary School compound.

Principal Ian Crawford said the infant department, which is on a separate property, was about 80 per cent ready last Tuesday. The facility was clean, the grounds had been tidied, and the external surroundings were visually appealing.

“The roof of my office was lost to the hurricane. That is now repaired. ... At the primary plant, we lost all the tanks and they remain on the ground. Water usage will be impacted unless they are repaired before Monday, but we have to work with the contractors of the MOEY,” he said.

The school had embarked on an expansion project to add more classrooms even before the hurricane and work is still under way to complete this.

‘We don’t have the space’

“So we are getting the children, but we don’t have the space to accommodate them. Plus, we still have blackboard separation, so, you know, if one teacher is teaching music, everybody is doing music. The expansion is to rid us of that and create more classroom space ... ,” he explained.

Although construction equipment and materials were scattered throughout the area, Crawford said regular clean-up efforts would continue ahead of Monday’s reopening.

Eleven kilometres away at Woodlands Primary and Infant School in Salmon Town, the dislodged guttering that directed water from the roof to the catchment and plastic tanks, remained on the ground last Tuesday. Additionally, the connection between the concrete catchment system and the black tanks was broken and the tanks were leaking.

Acting Principal Pauline McKenzie harboured doubts about whether the school would be ready to welcome its 100 students and six teachers on September 2.

“The reports for the final semester are incomplete. Because the area was without electricity, we had to travel to Manchester Parish Library in Mandeville to use the computers and access Internet service. The computers would be buffering for hours, and sometimes, you got nothing done,” she told The Sunday Gleaner.

Although upgrades have been made to bathroom facilities, a pit toilet is still maintained. Without water for the upgraded facilities, the staff bathroom and the girls’ bathroom would remain out of use.

The chicken coop, which provides meat for the canteen, also lost its roof and the playground’s pavilion sustained damage as well.

“The MOEY said we must open on Monday. The contractor came, but had to come back, and as you can see, this is where things are. So we are now doing the regular clean-up, after closing for so long, to get the classrooms ready,” McKenzie explained.

Another eight kilometres away, all the tanks of the Marlie Hill Primary School also remained on the ground last week after being dislodged by the hurricane. Overgrown grass was being cut and a contractor was busy building a facility to store garbage awaiting collection by the authorities.

Makeshift sanitary stations

With an uptick in coronavirus cases in the island over the summer holidays, the makeshift sanitary stations were also being cleaned. The two stations were constructed using five-gallon paint buckets to dispense water over a small sink for handwashing. Hand sanitisers were also in place.

At the nearby Cross Keys High, which was opened in 1976 on the shift system, a roof that reportedly started leaking in the late 1990s was now being repaired.

The school supplements its feeding programme through its agriculture department and rears chickens to provide meat.

Its well-kept grounds were in good condition last week as several workmen repaired the roof.

The education ministry has indicated that 107 of the island’s 1,009 public schools will not be ready for the start of the 2024-25 academic year. It said contingency plans are in place and alternative locations identified to hold classes until the hurricane-raved schools have been restored.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com