Photos/Video: “Significant Progress” On Schools

August 31, 2016

Minister of Public Works Craig Cannonier and Minister of Education Wayne Scott attended Elliot Primary School today [Aug 31] in order to outline the “significant progress” that has been made toward the completion of the 2016 Summer School’s Maintenance Project.

Minister Cannonier said, “I am very pleased to join the Minister of Education the Wayne Scott at Elliot School today to announce that significant progress has been made towards the completion of the 2016 Summer School’s Maintenance Project.

“All scheduled works will have been completed prior to the start of the school year and all school buildings ready to receive our students for the 2016/2017 School Year.

“To minimize disruption to schools and for health and safety reasons major maintenance work is always planned for school holidays, with the summer being the longest holiday.

“This summer’s works began in April with our Building’s Section team and the Facilities Management team from the Ministry of Education inspecting and identifying maintenance and repair issues for each of the 30 schools. The scope of works for each school was then drawn up and agreed with the Ministry of Education with the works starting as soon as the summer holidays began.

“This year’s works have involved seven work units comprising of over one hundred and twenty [120] staff including HVAC technicians, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, masons and painters.

“In addition to ministry staff, local companies were contracted to undertake and complete specific projects to assist in getting the schools ready prior to the start of new school year.

“Regarding the painting of schools, the scope of work comprised of both internal and external painting to the following schools: Elliot Primary School; Purvis Primary School; St. David’s Primary School; Victor Scott Primary School; Devonshire Pre School; and Warwick Pre School.

“These works were contracted out to the private sector for a total cost of Six Hundred and Twenty Three Thousand Dollars [$623,000].

“In addition, in-house teams have painted West End Primary School entirely and conducted touch-up painting within in the remaining schools.

“Also during the summer, the following schools have had sanding and/or refinishing work carried out on their gyms’ wooden floors: Elliot Primary School; Purvis Primary School; Victor Scott Primary School; and West End Primary.

“Other works ranged from an item as small as replacing a washer on a leaking tap to complete bathroom refurbishments. In total we expect to have spent some Two Million Dollars on school works this year.

“The goal of the Summer Schools Maintenance Project is to ensure that all the schools are in good working order and ready for the new school year. I am happy to declare that considerable progress has been made and I can assure you the work will be completed on time.

“This has been a major joint effort between the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Education and reflects well on Government Ministries working together to get the job done!

“I would like to take this opportunity to commend the staff of the Buildings Section and the facilities team at the Ministry of Education, the contractors and employees, all of whom have played their part in getting the schools ready.”

Minister of Education Wayne Scott said, “I would like to provide an update on the readiness of our school buildings as the 2016/17 school year will officially start for all students on Thursday, September 8th 2016.

“First of all let me say that during the summer months, our technical officers in both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Works strategically work together to undertake a series of maintenance and capital projects that will improve our school facilities in preparation for the start of school each September.

“We recognize the importance of having a safe, clean and healthy learning environment for our students, our principals, teaching staff, and administrative staff. Just last week I visited some of our schools along with the Acting Commissioner of Education and our Facilities Manager.

“We were pleased to see that the maintenance and repair work is progressing well.

“This summer, the Facilities Section in the Department of Education has completed a total of 75 school improvement deliverables with 25 of those being capital development projects for the improvement of our school buildings.

“Following a successful bidding process, work contracts were awarded to a number of local contractors to execute on the repair, maintenance and improvement projects slated for the summer.

“The Elliot Primary School was one of the major school improvement projects that is now in the final phase of completion. The upper restrooms were renovated for our children, the interior and the exterior of the school was painted, the entire school was tent fumigated for termites and various flooring projects were carried out in the assembly hall and library.

“Finally, extensive plumbing works were carried out in the courtyard to address age-old drainage issues.

“You may recall that I promised to have the maintenance schedule posted on the Ministry website back in May so that the general public is aware of the repair and maintenance projects that will be undertaken to improve our school buildings. The works that have been carried thus far include:

“The renovation of all student and staff restrooms at Northlands Primary school.
“The renovation of the upper restrooms at Victor Scott Primary school
“The purchase of three playgrounds for Gilbert Institute, Harrington Sound and West Pembroke schools
“Netball court resurfacing projects at West End Primary, Prospect Primary, and East End Primary schools;
“Tent Fumigation at West Pembroke school;
“Hallway and classroom floor resurfacing projects at Southampton and Prospect Preschools, and, at Port Royal, Purvis and Victor Scott Primary schools;
“And safety perimeter fencing at St. Georges Preschool and East End Primary.

“These are just some of the many improvement and maintenance projects undertaken this summer by our Facilities Section in the Department of Education. Additional maintenance tasks that were scheduled included: pest control assessments, fire alarm inspection testing, and water fountain maintenance, as well as the cleaning and power washing of walkways at various school sites.

“As we approach the beginning of September, our school custodians will be working diligently to complete the preparation of the inside of the school buildings for the start of the new school year.

“At this point, I would like to thank the team in the Ministry of Public Works for engaging in a collaborative partnership with the facilities team in the Department of Education. Both teams have remained diligent in the execution of the maintenance projects.

“Additionally, I acknowledge the independent contractors for the work carried out with the restroom renovations, the outside and interior resurfacing; fumigation and fencing – job well done.”