Expect ‘a little bit of discomfort’

RAMBLE, Hanover — Staff and students of Knockalva Technical High School here in this parish should not be surprised when they show up to school this morning and see that there is still work left to do to fix damage inflicted by last year’s Hurricane Melissa. During orientation last Tuesday, Principal Gregory Brown gave members of his team and parents a heads up that they will likely experience “a little bit of discomfort”. He anticipates that when classes resume for the 800 students enrolled, this will delay work planned for some labs, bathroom facilities and re-installation of air-conditioning units.

“Some of those conversations are being had with the parents, that you’re going to experience… a little bit of displacement here and there. But it is far better than the children staying out. They have stayed out too long in our view.

The parents and the staff, we are on board together to find a way to make the best use of the space we have to have all the children come [today] as we work to get back to some normalcy,” Brown told the Jamaica Observer during a visit to the school last week. Workmen seen working on the roof of a three-storey block in the background on Wednesday.Anthony Lewis He said that after four missed deadlines, repairs finally began on August 6 and there were mileposts along the way to help move the work along. “We would have set deadlines for individual sections that they were doing, the different areas.

So far, they have met the deadline for covering the roof, for resealing them…They have met the deadline for covering the canteen. I’m hoping they were sourcing material to cover the auditorium. If those things are in place, I think they’ll meet the deadline as well,” he said, his voice full of optimism.

“Overall though, I get the impression that we should be about 80 per cent complete by mid-October or roundabout there,” the educator added. A roofless two-storey block with tarpaulin on a section of it, on Wednesday Anthony Lewis He explained that the remaining 20 per cent of work — such as cupboard replacement and AC installation — are things that will not have a significant impact on the school’s daily operations. “Overall, the board and myself, we are kind of pleased at the rate at which they are going.

It’s night and day, and the premix trucks are there. They come regularly,” stated Brown, who had high praise for the Ministry of Educatio…