The leadership of the V.I. Education Department could find itself being subpoenaed to appear before the Senate Education Committee to answer questions about the status of schools in St. Croix.
Education Commissioner Ruby Simmonds and other top officials were absent from a Friday hearing called by committee chairman Norman Jn-Baptiste.
Jn-Baptiste, who proceeded with the meeting despite being told by Simmonds that she and the teachers union were involved in mediation, expressed frustration when Deputy Superintendent Lionel Sewpershad did not have the answers the committee was seeking to the "many pressing problems" facing the school system on St. Croix.
At one point, the freshman senator, who has clashed with Simmonds on more than one occasion, suggested that a no-confidence vote be sent to those commissioners who fail to appear before the Senate and that the governor be urged to name persons to his Cabinet "who can perform."
Sen. Adelbert Bryan took Jn-Baptiste's reprimand a step further by moving to issue subpoenas to force attendance at a meeting scheduled for Jan. 17.
In addition to Simmonds, officials from Special Education, Finance, Public Finance, the Office of Management and Budget and Public Works will be required to appear. Bryan wants several areas discussed at the meeting, including the process by which school bus drivers are paid, the timetable for repairs at public schools, a reported delay in payments to St. Croix bus vendors and a problem with insurance payments for bus drivers on St. Croix.
Ralph Mandrew, president of the V.I. Workers Union, which represents school bus drivers, spent considerable time before the committee detailing the history of slow and often-times delayed payment to vendors for school bus service.
As recently as Monday, Abramson Bus Co. pulled buses off the street for lack of payment, leaving hundreds of parents and guardians scrambling to get their children to school. The service was reinstated after the government delivered a check to Abramson.
Sen. Alicia Hansen at Friday's meeting warned that she would take the department to court the next time bus service is halted without adequate notice to parents.
