A firm decision has not yet been made regarding when the Lester Vaughan School will be reopened.
Following a tour of the Cane Garden, St Thomas Plant, on Thursday, Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw says while she is happy with the recent air quality and environmental assessment, which gave the school the all-clear, the feelings of staff and students still have to be considered.
“The Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training received the air quality assessment report on Tuesday. The conclusion drawn by the expert was that there is no cause for concern with regard to volatile organic compounds above the sealed manholes at the Lester Vaughan School,” says Archer-Bradshaw.
She said they then met with the teachers’ unions as well as the deputy principal and chairman, which in turn was followed by a meeting with staff on Wednesday afternoon.
“We were able to share the findings of the report, [but] a few staff members still had valid concerns about returning to the plant. As a result, I decided to call the Chief Medical Officer to see how he could lend some support and send a team here to help us assess the environment and see if transferring students back to school was feasible,” she said, adding that a decision will be made public by next week.
The entourage included acting Permanent Secretary Wendy Odle, principal Suzette Holder, medical officer of health Dr Carl Ward and members of the school’s health and safety committee: chairman Georgiann Legall, deputy chairman Dr André Greenidge and secretary Sandra Harris.
Minister of Education Kay McConney was not present. (CA)
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