The end of the school year has come, work can begin!

Who remembers the state of schools after Irma? Who can still think today that these establishments are in the same state as 10 months ago?

President Daniel Gibbs recalls that the 17 establishments able to accommodate students in the aftermath of Irma have all were urgently repaired so that the start of the school year could take place on November 6, 2017, 2 months after the hurricane. Emergency work for 2 million euros all the same, which will now give way to larger works, during the summer period, for an amount of 9.5 million euros.

For clarification, there is no need for an “over-the-counter” procedure to launch these repair projects (this procedure had also been granted by the State for emergency work, until December 31, 2017), in accordance with in accordance with the legislation in force, the community has issued calls for tender to carry out all the work on the schools. These markets are ready, for obvious reasons of student safety, we just had to wait until the end of the school year to be able to start the construction sites.

Should we remember that 95% of the buildings in the Community were damaged. Among these, the 20 educational establishments on the island were all strongly impacted and 3 of them were destroyed: the Nina Duverly elementary school, in Marigot, the Emile Larmonie primary school and the Soualiga college, at Cul de Sac. In fact, the school year which has just passed has been complicated and disrupted for everyone.

As a reminder, the only elementary schools which completed the 2017-2018 school year with the implementation rotating timetables, are those of Sandy Ground: the Jérôme Beaupère nursery school and the Aline Hanson primary school. The community was able to find solutions for other establishments. Note that the management of the school complex ultimately accepted the installation of 4 prefabricated rooms which will be put in place this summer so as not to disturb the school community. The Fondation de France will deliver 4 additional prefabricated rooms for the start of the school year in September.

 

It is also important to specify that the community has not received “astronomical sums”. for the reconstruction of its schools. Quite the contrary! The envelope of €33M assessed with the State and the DI-R for the reconstruction of the Saint-Martin school park was finally reduced to €15M, during the Interministerial Meeting of March 2018. Remember that with this sum, the The community is supposed to repair 17 schools and rebuild a college and two schools, while a single 900 college costs on average €20M and a school on average €4M.

The president of the Community and his vice -President in charge of Education Annick Pétrus has made it a priority to do everything possible to ensure that the next school year in September 2018 takes place in optimal conditions.

This is a strongly communicated commitment on several occasions by the president and his vice-president, for which €9.5M was allocated in the Community's budget. The objective is to carry out the necessary repairs and reconstructions in the 17 schools still standing in July and August. The work will consist of renovating roofs, carpentry, electricity, painting and fences. The community will soon communicate on the work carried out in each school.

As for sports equipment, a rehabilitation program was launched under the aegis of the 1st vice-president, Valérie Damaseau. The community has focused on the rehabilitation of the sports hall at the Jean-Louis Vanterpool stadium, which will be ready for the start of the school year in September and which will be able to accommodate school sports (basketball – volleyball – badminton – handball and footsal). The football stadium will be ready with the rehabilitation of the pitch and the repair of the roof of the stands. The island's sports facilities will be delivered between September and November 2018. Following the mandatory building control phase and the asbestos diagnosis, the Galisbay Omnisports hall will have to be demolished. A first phase will consist of demolishing the roof in July.

President Daniel Gibbs and all the elected officials of the Territorial Council warmly thank all the students and their families, but also the educational community for the understanding and patience they showed during this disrupted school year. The President and his vice-president are doing everything they can during the two months of vacation to complete these projects and return to school under the best auspices, next Monday, September 3.