REPAIR RAGE - Protest erupts over stalled reconstruction at Westmoreland high school

WESTERN BUREAU: 

Growing frustration over the protracted delay in carrying out infrastructure repairs at Godfrey Stewart High School in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, boiled over late last week as parents, school administrators and stakeholders staged a protest calling for the resumption of work on damaged buildings.

The concerns centre on repair and reconstruction works being led by the National Education Trust (NET) following damage caused by Hurricane Melissa. 

According to school officials, work began earlier this year but has been stalled since March, raising fears that key facilities may not be ready when classes resume in September.

Principal Emily Lawrence-Ricketts said the institution, which serves approximately 1,285 students and employs 60 academic staff members, has been making strides academically and in extracurricular activities despite ongoing challenges.

"We are a little over 60 years old, and for the last couple years we have been really on a success trajectory of excellence," she said. "Our students do well in the performing arts, greater than they do in academics, but we are actually working on that in order for us to see both areas having a balance in terms of the success rate."

Lawrence-Ricketts explained that several classrooms and support facilities remain unusable because of incomplete construction work.

"What I'm able to tell is that we currently have a [work-resumption] date that they’re working with, which is June 26th, but the work has been stalled since March 2026," she said. "They had started the work, demolished some areas, and everything is still there."

The principal warned that between 280 and 300 fourth-form students could be displaced if the affected areas are not completed before the start of the new academic year.

"We also have the cottage, where we house the nurse’s station, [and] the two guidance counsellors. It's a breakfast area, and it's also an area for a classroom that houses 25 students for cosmetology," she explained. "So, I don't know. I'm hoping that by the end of August we would be better able to see what the block will look like, but at this time I am not sure."

She described the situation as difficult for both students and parents, noting that some students have had to attend school on a phased basis due to limited classroom space.

“Parents have been restive about that as well," Lawrence-Ricketts said. "I'm very, very hopeful and I'm just asking them to just give us some more time, please."

While expressing confidence in the efforts of education officials, she said the school is awaiting action from NET.

"We're just waiting on NET to see what is going to come of this particular situation because, you know, parents are restive. We're not sure what's going to happen. It's just something that we have to fix now in order for us to be ready for August 15."

Meanwhile, Petagaye Melbourne, the president of the parent-teacher association (PTA), said parents have grown increasingly frustrated by what they perceive as slow progress.

"We have been lobbying for the refurbishing of the school for months. The last time they did any refurbishing was in March," she said. "The principal, the vice-principals, they have sent numerous emails to the ministry, and nothing happened until they heard that we'll be out here today. Then everybody starts sending people to come here."

Melbourne insisted that parents are not interested in political arguments, but want safe learning conditions for their children.

"We are not playing politics with education," she said. "If we don't get anything by July, we are coming out here again, and this time it's going to be different."

"There are several classrooms that are leaking. As soon as rain starts falling, the children have to open umbrellas, and some classes have to be dismissed because there isn't enough umbrella room for those classes," she said, in explaining the challenging conditions.

With approximately 95 days remaining before the new school year, Melbourne questioned how the school would accommodate incoming grade-seven students while operating on a rotational schedule.

"Where are we going to put them when we already have what we have here on a rotational schedule?" she asked. "They need to come fix this."

Adrian Ellison, one of the disgruntled parents, also voiced concern over the prolonged delays, describing the school's condition as unacceptable.

"It is a bad condition in terms of Melissa, since it's been over seven months ... since the school has been in a deplorable condition," he said.

Despite the growing frustration, school officials remain hopeful that construction activities will resume on June 26, and that the critical facilities will be completed before orientation activities begin on August 25.

mickalia.kington@gleanerjm.com