ST. CROIX – The 35th Legislature of the Virgin Islands’ Committee on Education and Workforce Development, led by Senator Marise C. James met in the Frits E. Lawaetz Legislative Conference Room. Lawmakers received a status update from the Virgin Islands Department of Education on the success of the summer enrichment programs, the current status of school facilities and assessment of overall school readiness including but not limited to data on teacher vacancies and recruitment efforts to fill positions, data on student enrollment, information on assignment and reassignment of principals, and the status and use of the federal funds that must be spent by September 30, 2024. The Committee also heard from the newly hired Executive Director of the Bureau of School Construction and maintenance about plans and goals for territorial schools. Finally, the Board of Education and the St. Croix Public School Parent Coalition will present testimony on priorities for the 2024-2025 school year and any concerns that the board and the Coalition have has the new school year begins.
“Let us not pretend this is brand new. We know it’s been existing. We have been hearing these complaints for years. Today is a day for us to hold ourselves accountable and responsible.” – said Chairwoman Marise C. James, voicing concerns over the status of school facilities.
Dr. Dionne Wells-Hedrington, Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Education delivered updates regarding the Department. The Department reopened its classrooms for instruction on August 5, 2024. An annual school inspection tour was complete by school leaders one week prior to the opening of school with stakeholders such as the Commissioner of Education, the Superintendent of Schools, Deputy Superintendent of Schools, Department of Environmental Health, Department of Public Works, The Virgin Islands Fire Department, Department of Planning and Natural Resources and a team from the Virgin Islands Board of Education. Stefan Jurgen, St. Thomas St. John Insular Superintendent reminded the body that there have been numerous across many educational campuses. These included staffing vacancies from classroom teachers to paraprofessionals, custodians, and counselors. Infrastructure issues such as nonfunctional air conditioning, and frequent power outages have affected instructions and daily operations. Several schools have reported not receiving critical curriculum materials, such as reading, math, and science resources. There was a need for basic classroom furniture in some schools. Additionally, several schools have had issues with internet connectivity, essential for modern instruction. Health and safety concerns have been raised, due to leaks and other environmental issues.
Wells-Hedrington reminded lawmakers that the Department of Education has been battling with the maintenance of schools for decades, stating that historically schools have been underfunded with local funds to maintain sites which has resulted in millions of dollars in deferred maintenance. According to Wells-Hedrington, in 2015, it was determined by the American Corp of Engineers Assessment that it would take $22 million to repair all the facilities territory wide. She further stated that it is not a far stretch to conclude that the cost of the repair may have doubled or tripled. Walkthroughs have been conducted at several campuses, where work was still on going. Modular units continue to show signs of deterioration, which has contributed to mold. The School Maintenance and Construction Bureau will complete a long-term plan to address modulars across the territory.
Abdul Ali, Chairperson of the St. Croix Public School Parent Coalition delivered updates as it pertained to efforts he and the Coalition had made. He stated that while there have been areas where priorities had been met, he saw the need for more work to be done in many of its priority areas. Ali stated that timelines for the competition of school repairs so that schools would be considered are needed. He said detailed plans for the treatment of mold problems at the schools are important. Ali voiced concern over low bandwidth at schools, and the impact it had on the learning process. The lack of a playground at many schools, and the necessary repairs needed on kitchens, bathrooms, AC, and roof repairs needed to keep rain away. Maqueda Noorhassan, PTA President of RRES, delivered testimony, voicing her concerns over the status of the readiness of public schools, particularly in St. Croix. Norhassan stated that she believed that schools were not ready to open, based off her viewing of YouTube videos posted by the Department of Education. Norhassan stated that there is a lack of proof of transparency that indicated prior and current problems were addressed. She asked if there is a VIBE School Inspection Report available to the public and if that information can be shared. Norhassan commended the VIDE for going in the right direction to offer new and more opportunities for college/career readiness. However, she voiced the need for more transparency, stating that we could do better to improve the quality of facilities and education.
Janice Jones, president of the Parent Teacher Organization at Alfredo Andrews Elementary School delivered comments, stating that she was concerned over the infrastructure, and requested that the urgent issues at the school would be addressed. The current state of furniture, with rusted legs and unusable seats is not acceptable for children’s daily use. The concern of mold at the campus has been a major concern, with roof leaks over teacher classrooms and school wings. The school cafeteria has been rampant with issues with overhearing and urged the replacement of the air conditioning unit in its cafeteria and auditorium. The auditorium has unstable seats, causing children to fall or receive injuries from protruding parts of the seats. Additionally, Jones stated that there was a termite infestation at the school, causing health and safety issues, posing a significant risk to its structural integrity. Jones also called for the renovation of the school’s bathrooms and voiced a need for new playground and sports facilities.
Lisa Terry, Secretary at the Pearl B Larsen PTA & Teacher Association voiced concern over critical issues at the school. Terry requested that lawmakers require the Board of Education bring the school back in compliance with Title 17 by updating the annual school assessment to include missing maintenance projects, require a solid date distribution of the $250,000 for teacher instruction and learning and execute timely and expeditious hiring and deployment of open positions. Terry also requested that the necessary infrastructure at the school be repaired in its bathrooms, updating its music rooms, repairing of broken, and damaged ceiling tiles, installation of new playgrounds, and fix internet connectivity. She requested that parents and guardians of students be updated with accurate information via email, text, and social media within two hours if an infrastructure issue occurs.
Craig Benjamin, Executive Director of the Bureau of School Construction and Maintenance informed the body that in his current capacity, he has prioritized a comprehensive reassessment of school facility operations. Benjamin stated that just recently, the Department was impacted by Tropical Storm Ernesto. This resulted in water damage, which led to the growth of mildew, creating health concerns. Fluctuating power levels during the storm caused air conditioning units to malfunction, which worsened maintenance challenges, which lead to damaged electrical boards, blown compressors and malfunctioning capacitors. In response to the events, the Bureau prioritized emergency repairs, collaboration with contractors to expedite repairs on AC, on-going required maintenance, and installing and upgrading generators at VIDE facilities.
Additionally, testifiers provided information on the annual Educational Assistance provided to the Department of Education by EDC beneficiaries from 2020-2024; specifically, the process for the collection and transfer of funds to the Department of Education; the number of beneficiaries currently providing educational assistance, the total amount of money provided annually to the Department of Education for public school programs and initiatives, reports required to be generated to assess the success of the required assistance; and whether the legislation needs to be amended.
Wayne Biggs, CEO of the Economic Development Authority delivered testimony. The basic purpose of the Virgin Islands Economic Development program are declared to be the growth, development and diversification of the economy of the Virgin Islands, to benefit the people of the Virgin Islands by discovering economic resources available therein, the establishment and preservation of opportunities of gainful employment for residents of the Virgin Islands; the promotion of capital formation for the industrial development of the Virgin Islands; the contribution of beneficiaries to the development of the educational system of the Territory; and the preservation of the environment, beauty and natural resources of the Virgin Islands; all of which purposes and objectives are declared to be in the public interest.
Beneficiaries of the EDC, pursuant to 29 V.I.C. Chapter 12 Subsection 708(m), as amended by Act #8559 on April 11, 2022, are required to provide educational assistance as follows: “(m) Provide educational assistance to residents of the Virgin Islands in an amount and form which is acceptable to the Commission, except that fifty-five percent of any such financial contribution must be made to the Department of Education for public school programs and initiatives and in addition, any entity except Category IV entities receiving benefits under this subchapter shall contribute a minimum of $3,000 annually to the Board of Education to be placed in the Territorial Scholarship Fund and used in accordance with the purpose of the fund; except that, this section shall not apply to beneficiaries under title 29 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 12, section 708b. Category IV entities receiving benefits under this chapter shall contribute a minimum of $10,000 annually to the Board of Education to be placed in the Territorial Scholarship Fund and used in accordance with the purposes of the fund, except that this subsection shall not apply to beneficiaries under Title 29, Virgin Islands Code, chapter 12, section 74 708b. The Department of Education and the Board of Education shall submit to the Commission received within 60 days after the close of each calendar year annual reports indicating each beneficiary’s name, amount contributed, and use of funds. As used in this subsection, educational assistance included all types of educational assistance including vocational and other job training programs. The language was later amended, which then stated that the EDC beneficiary was now required to provide 55% of its financial contribution directly to the Department of Education (DOE) while the prior language required that the EDC beneficiary provide 50% of its financial contribution for public school programs and initiatives. Also, the DOE must report the contributions collected from the EDC beneficiaries annually to the EDC. This meant that before the amended 708(m) the EDC beneficiary could support a host of educational programs certified as “designated public school programs and initiatives” by the Commissioner of Education or make financial contributions directly to public schools of their choice without going through the DOE.
The EDC currently has 93 beneficiaries of which 12 executed their EDC certificates after April 11, 2022, and are required to make a 55% educational assistance financial contribution directly to the Department of Education. Five EDC certificates were activated in Calendar Year 2022, six in Calendar Year 2023, and one in Calendar year 2024. Some pre-act 8559 EDC beneficiaries have chosen to direct their required educational assistance contributions and initiatives to the Department of Education, even though this was not specifically required of them. EDC beneficiaries are required to make their financial contributions directly to the DOE. The DOE must submit an annual report within 60 days of the close of each calendar year indicating beneficiary name, amount contributed, and use of funds.
Senators present at today’s Committee meeting included Marise C. James, Donna A. Frett-Gregory, Marvin A. Blyden, Samuel Carrion, Diane T. Capehart, Dwayne M. Degraff, Novelle E. Francis, Jr., Ray Fonseca, Kenneth L. Gittens, Javan E. James, Sr., Franklin D. Johnson, and Carla J. Joseph, and Milton E. Potter.
The Division of Public Affairs is committed to providing the community with accurate information on legislative proceedings and other events at the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. Visit legvi.org.
####
