West St George school left in a mess, staffers displeased

MEMBERS OF STAFF at the West St. George Secondary School are not pleased over the condition in which the building was left after evacuees departed.

DISCARDED WATER and soft drinks receptacles littered under the stairwell

The school was one of several used to house residents from the hazard zones when the Soufriere volcano began erupting explosively on April 9.

The staff has been left with the task of cleaning up the school compound, and getting equipment back to a proper working condition.

One member of staff asked, “is that the way grown people behave in a place they live in?”

Beneath one of the stairwells was a collection of refuse including discared water and soft drinks receptacles and other pieces of garbage. There are about five garbage bins placed near the entrance to the school, and the refuse left lying about elicited the question, “What does it take to put garbage in the bins. How can big people live like that?”

The cleaning process involves the scrubbing of classrooms, washing of the walls and windows, and removing various items of discarded clothing.

“We have been [taking] out garbage for a few days so the place is looking much better now. You should have seen it. The people left garbage all over the place for their servants to clean,” one staff member sarcastically commented.

There was also a hole in a freezer, damaged burners on a stove, broken tiles, and evidence that one classrooms was used as a kitchen, requiring extra effort to be righted.

“How can people cook in a classroom, do they have no respect for other people’s property?” the staff member further asked.

Schools are scheduled to re-open for in-person classes on October 4 and evacuees were required to vacate the buildings by August 23 to facilitate a major schools repair programme due to begin soon.