The state of summer maintenance work on St. Croix schools this year was high on the list of concerns of many of the Virgin Islanders speaking to some of their senators Saturday afternoon at forum in Frederiksted’s Buddhoe Park.
A fledgling community group, We the People, organized the forum with The People’s Community Action Radio, a group connected to WRRA AM 1290 radio, which broadcast it live.
Sens. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, Michael Thurland, Usie Richards and Terrence "Positive Nelson sat at a table in front of the park’s bandstand, listening to statements and questions from members of We the People and from the two-dozen or so people listening from their perches on the park’s benches.
"What are your offices doing … so as not to repeat what we do every year and wait until August or September to do summer maintenance," asked Mary Moorhead of Frederiksted.
She and others said they were concerned that it appeared no summer maintenance work had begun yet.
St. Croix resident Percival Edwards said he was concerned not just over the school repairs, but over the summer jobs they create for students hired to clear brush, clean the grounds and other labor.
"We have about 50 students who are not able to get summer employment because of this," Edwards said. "The Beautification and Antilitter Commission hired a hundred or so, but we are talking about more than a thousand students out of school in the summer. … The youth need money to go back to school with and you have no programs for them."
Edwards asked if any federal stimulus money might be available for summer job programs. The stimulus funds are not under the control of the Legislature however and no one had a clear answer.
By the rules set up by the organizers, only after every questioner was done speaking did the senators respond. As a result, rather than a question and answer session, the forum took the form of a series of personal statements from the audience members, followed some time later by a general response from each senator to all the commenters.
When it came time to respond, Thurland said summer maintenance was seriously delayed this year as a result of the government’s growing revenue shortfall.
"This summer is practically a wash and it is a very unfortunate situation," Thurland said. Bond funds will be coming to help, he said. "But it won’t be in time, it won’t be probably until mid-August."
Having a revenue fund dedicated specifically for summer maintenance on schools might help reduce similar problems in the future, he said. All the senators on the panel agreed maintenance needed more organization and more reliable funding. Donastorg suggested reviving a now-defunct program combining summer work with vocational education.
"One of things we have allowed to fall by the wayside is the education maintenance program," he said. "Young adults were able to learn different trades in the schools, whether plumbing, electrical, carpentry or painting. The schools were better prepared to open in those days and the who did the repairs learned while working."
A re-invigorated agriculture industry, jobs, quality of education and the territory’s sovereignty and status in relation to the United States were topics of interest at the forum too.
It rained off and on during the forum, and the last half hour was cut short due to a sudden torrential downpour.
