As public schools across the Virgin Islands opened this week, ongoing maintenance challenges —particularly on St. Croix—have come to the forefront, forcing the Department of Education to act swiftly.
Along with releasing a series of projects and their timelines (click here for the St. Thomas-St. John listing and here for St. Croix,) the Department also announced a partnership with Home Depot, securing a donation of ceiling fans to supplement malfunctioning air conditioning units.
“Home Depot’s commitment to community development and engagement is evident through this substantial contribution, which will significantly benefit students and faculty in both the St. Thomas-St. John District and the St. Croix District for the 2024-2025 school year,” the Department said in a release. “This donation of fans makes a bold statement of support for the Virgin Islands Department of Education, highlighting Home Depot’s dedication to the well-being and education of students.”
In a recent interview with the Source after a series of school campus tours, Education Commissioner Dionne Wells-Hedrington, as she has done in numerous public appearances and Senate hearings, candidly delved into the challenges, emphasizing that the Department’s primary focus has been on addressing safety issues within the aging buildings and campuses.
Wells-Hedrington also pointed out that the Department has had to be “clear and intentional” with how it spent its local dollars, noting that securing additional funding from the U.S. Department of Education has been critical.
Meanwhile, officials have said the newly established Bureau of School Construction and Maintenance is currently working on a comprehensive plan, which is soon expected to be presented to the Legislature and governor. However, the Bureau’s Executive Director, Craig Benjamin, is on leave, two months into the job, having yet to fully transition from the mainland. Government House officials have said that while his presence on the ground was expedited due to the “immediacy of the legislation” that established the Bureau, Benjamin is still acclimating.
“Per the law passed that required the administration to hire individuals to run the maintenance efforts of the department, it was made clear that there was a desire to let the department focus on academics, while the Bureau handled the maintenance,” explained Government House Communications Director Richard Motta.
Motta also highlighted the challenges posed by the funding process, which requires the Department’s purchases to be reviewed and approved by a third-party fiduciary, which has been in place since 2004. “When attempting to procure assets like fans, they have had to clear things like that, and many times, it is a more tedious process than has been let on,” he said.
Responding to public concerns that the Department had not begun maintenance efforts before summer finished, Mott was unequivocal: “It’s the furthest thing from the truth. Right now, we want to do the best we can to ensure basic standards for safe learning exist, while also making sure we do all that we can to expedite the construction of new state-of-the-art facilities,” he said.
