THE EDITOR, Sir:
I AM writing to respond to a letter (The Gleaner, June 12) written by Carol Archer, the People's National Party caretaker in West Rural St. Andrew. It is not correct for her to say that community members made attempts to contact Councillor John Myers and myself and were unable to do so. In fact John Myers spoke with me on the morning of the 6th right after it was discovered that there had been a fire, and he was present at the school that morning and was seen by all on the news giving statements regarding the fire.
I was unable to be there as I was preparing to go to Parliament. When I visited the school, I took a digital camera with me, and I documented the damage that had been done to the structure and to the desks and chairs etc. I wrote a letter to the Ministry of Education highlighting the urgency in dealing with the situation, highlighting the fact that this was a school that had been established some 40 years ago and that currently enjoys an enrolment of 152 children, who come from 16 different rural communities. I asked the Ministry as a matter of urgency to send a qualified engineer to view the damaged structure, so that we could be guided as to what aspects of the existing structure could be used as a foundation to do repairs.
For safety reasons we could not commence a repair project without professional guidance. I indicated in that letter that it was urgent, as we wanted to do a massive Labour Day project at the school, and that we would have sought the assistance of the masons, carpenters, electricians and other tradesmen from the affected communities. I asked for a financial commitment from the Ministry of Education to help with the purchasing of materials.
ASSISTANCE
Miss Archer goes on to say that since the event she has worked closely with Minister Henry-Wilson who instructed personnel from the Ministry to provide the necessary assistance. Yet more than 58 days, after the incident had occurred no one from the Ministry of Education had visited the school. I indicated that I had received a response from the Ministry of Education, which gave me no information as to when we could expect repairs to be affected, but in fact only said that they were seeking to have the repairs done through the CHASE Fund.
It is worthy of note that this basic school is one of a handful of schools currently involved in a pilot project for a new early childhood education curriculum. Last week in Parliament I was given the assurance that the school will be repaired in time for September. However a starting date for the repairs has still not been communicated either to me, or the persons at the school. Nothing tangible has been done to date.
By the way Ms. Archer, I spoke in Parliament on June 1st, not May 25th. The Ministry of Education without question, has handled this matter poorly.
I am, etc.,
ANDREW GALLIMORE,
M.P.West Rural St. Andrew
