Manning’s School to repurpose auditorium after hurricane damage
Published:Sunday | March 23, 2025 | 9:59 PMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
A group of New York-based past students of Manning’s School in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, has donated US$5,000 towards the rehabilitation of the school’s auditorium, which was significantly damaged during the passage of Hurricane Beryl last June.
Steve Gordon, the school’s principal, said the rehabilitation plan was being geared towards repurposing the auditorium for multipurpose use so that it would be used for revenue generation through the hosting of events.
The heavy rains and storm-force winds associated with Hurricane Beryl significantly impacted the 287-year-old school, damaging several buildings, including the auditorium which had its roof completely blown off.
According to Gordon, the school is now awaiting the full cost of repairing and redesigning aspects of the auditorium so that the necessary funding can be found through their network of past students and business partners.
“I made a call to the past students about three weeks ago to pull in the funds, and we are in touch with a contractor for them to give us an estimated cost to repair and upgrade the auditorium,” Gordon told The Gleaner.
Gordon is also optimistic that the school’s past students living in Jamaica and those now living in other parts of the diaspora will also come forward with support to ensure that this project becomes a reality.
“We are looking for support from New York and South Florida in the United States, and from Toronto, Canada. They are usually very responsive. We have got a donation so far from New York, and South Florida will be sending theirs shortly,” said Gordon.
As it relates to the long-term vision for the auditorium, Gordon said past students in Florida want to raise the bar as part of the rehabilitation to have the space in a condition that it is not only hurricane-proof but available for rental as a modern space.
“We had leaks in the roof before, but the passage of the hurricane further compromised the sealing bed, so the money that we will be getting will be used to replace damaged windows, continue to refurbish the entire roof and repurpose the space into a modern facility that will be available for rental,” said Gordon.
Regarding the damage that was done to other parts of the school, Gordon said the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information has now completed major construction works under its emergency contractual arrangements to repair the roofs of offices and classrooms.
Kaleeb Plummer, president of that New York chapter of the school’s past student group, said her team went into action as soon as the school’s needs were communicated to them. She said that, since the Government was taking on the repair of the classrooms, they decide to take on the auditorium.
“We are bluebloods to our core, and when the call went out that the school needed assistance to repair the damage brought by Hurricane Beryl, we happily answered the call,” said Plummer.