75.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesSIBILLY CLASSES RESUME AS CISTERN WORK GOES ON

SIBILLY CLASSES RESUME AS CISTERN WORK GOES ON

Oct. 3, 2001 – It was business as usual Wednesday at Joseph Sibilly School, according to Education Department spokeswoman Juel Anderson.
Students were sent home early on Tuesday after the school ran short of water in its temporary plastic cisterns. Anderson said when teachers learned that a water delivery expected before the start of school on Tuesday had not arrived, they refused to enter their classrooms.
She said their concerns centered on the fact that although some water remained in cisterns, there wasn't enough to supply all the toilets. "That's a sanitary issue," she said.
Anderson said the plastic cisterns have been in use at the school because work crews haven't finished installing filtration systems in the permanent cisterns. She said this job was part of the summer maintenance program that didn't get finished because the Education Department didn't have enough contractors for all the needed work. She stressed that Tuesday's problem was in no way related to the water contamination problems that plagued the school in recent years.
Water for the plastic cisterns had been ordered on Monday, but due to a mixup in delivery orders was not delivered until around 11 a.m. Tuesday, after the students had spent several hours outdoors waiting for it.
Anderson said Principal Dora Hill decided that because the morning's events had frustrated both the teachers and the students, she would close the school after the students had lunch. School buses were summoned, and the children were dismissed around noon. "The principal said the day was lost," Anderson said.
Hill was atttending an all-day workshop Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.
Anderson, whose daughter attends Sibilly School, said she always sends her child to school with a jug of water, to make sure she gets enough to drink.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.