Better late than never, as the old saying goes. (Or is it ‘better late than pregnant?’). I digress.
Governor Lou Leon Guerrero’s belated ‘whole of government’ movement to assist public schools is being welcomed by Guam Department of Education superintendent Erik Swanson and the Guam Education Board as a school readiness crisis ensues.
Last week the governor convened meetings with her cabinet and the autonomous agencies to assess the executive branch’s capacity to assist GDOE with school fixes ranging from cleaning and painting to construction. She created the School Opening Readiness Team (SORT) to command her Adopt-a-School program from which agencies (with the support of teams of professionals) would help the different schools prepare for inspections, and pass reinspections.
According to the governor’s office, the governor for weeks has been waiting for and following up with GDOE officials for punch lists of work needed at each of the schools, and the supplies for those repairs to be procured. On Monday the governor’s office and GDOE both confirmed the agency finally provided those lists and is in the process of ordering supplies.
“According to GDOE personnel, most schools need major work on restrooms and HVAC,” the governor’s office stated in a news release Monday. “Based on their assessments, G D O E needs more materials for restroom facilities, including toilets, urinals, faucets, and sinks. They are procuring these items and hope to have them by the end of the week.”
The governor’s effort along with the ongoing and planned efforts of volunteers from other public offices and the private sector ideally will speed up the work of contractors already positioned or are in the midst of repairs.
For example, GDOE has contracted Core Tech International to fix up George Washington High School, which has been among the worst-kept campuses. Core Tech’s work and its scheduled completion of the repairs is being hampered by a delay in the arrival of materials to get that work done, according to the governor’s office.
The governor’s SORT kicked off the Adopt-a-School program Monday, when she deployed professionals from the Department of Public Works to tour GWHS with principal Dexter Fullo. GWHS is one of the schools GDOE expects will take longer than just a matter of weeks to bring up to safety and sanitary compliance.
Mr. Swanson said a contingency plan for when, where, and how public school students of closed campuses will begin learning will be released this Friday. Both he and education board vice chairman Angel Sablan confirmed that this contingency plan will ensure every public school student will be back in school – though not necessarily in their respective campuses – by the end of next week.
