Tonight, one of Belize city's oldest schools has been condemned for demolition - and their students' education is in limbo.
It's caused a public uproar, asking why the building, which remains so important to the students, was allowed to deteriorate to a terminal stage.
They're also asking where the children are supposed to go now after 2 years of distance learning and a school that has been deemed completely unsafe. Cherisse Halsall visited St. Mary's today to get some answers. Here is that story.
STANDUP
St. Mary's school is crumbling, in such a dilapidated state that two independent structural engineers have declared it unfit for purpose, meaning demolition is the only option.
But breaking that very bad news to parents wasn't easy especially because the administration chose to tell them one week and a half before the start of the school year, and the long-awaited post-Covid return.
Now as the manager and principal try to find solutions, the kids are once again the ones made to suffer.
And while most parents had this response to the situation….
Parent
"What can we do we have to wait and make the school rebuilt. We can't do nothing else. The building needed repairs years back I guess and they waited until it took too long. It decomposed I'd call it."
When we spoke to the General Manager for Anglican school, Jeremy Cayetano she told us that the demolition was the last thing that the administration wanted to contemplate.
Cherisse Halsall:
"One of the issues was, parents were concerned you know, why not say this in the middle of the pandemic when kids were not physically at school, why wait until right before the real deal re-opening of school to announce this?"
Jeremy Cayetano, General Manager, Anglican Pre and Primary Schools
"What happened is that for us we did not know that the assessment would reveal a total shutdown of the building and even after we got the first assessment we still checked again to see if we would have been able to shore up Belize so we did not know actually that we were going to have to go to full demolition of these buildings until after the second assessment came out that is when we knew that and immediately we put a contingency plan in place."
But what are the contingency plans for the developing minds of these children?
We know that BDAT tests administered at the end of the last school year conclusively proved that students had fallen behind while under lockdown and with that in mind parents are increasingly anxious that their kids get back to in class instruction.
Cherisse Halsall:
"What did you say yesterday to the parents who said, we can't do anymore online. It's just not strong enough engagement for my child to learn."
Jeremy Cayetano, General Manager, Anglican Pre and Primary Schools
"I asked the parents to bear with us. One of the parents said that we have educated all of his children. He has a child graduating from UB so I told him even more we have invested just give us some time to be able to bring your children back to face-to-face. We understand and the last thing we wanted to do as a matter a fact we were looking for spaces outside of having the bringing the building spaces out there where we could have our children because we know how it is like, what it is like to be online with the children but I encourage the children to not give up on St. Mary's because St. Mary's has not given up on their children that's one. Two, this is an excellent school I can say that unequivocally."
But for those who choose or who have no choice but to stay at St. Mary's, it's a hard road ahead. We spoke to one Grandmother in the neighbourhood who says she's frustrated with online schooling and needs it to end.
Gail Avilez, Grandmother of 4 students
"With all they picking I cuss more, they get me angry and I have to cuss out den. I no like to do it but they bring it out."
"My son he went to the school because they called for a meeting and that is when we got the news? And what was his reaction, he was angry I saw a lot of parents coming from the meeting too because I was out there and they were angry, they were saying that they will take their child to another school and some of them were."
"I don't like the idea that they are staying home that they have to do that home school again because school is supposed to open but at the last minute they told us that they are breaking down the school and that, and that they have to stay home and work again that no fair."
Cherisse Halsall:
"When you say at the last minute when exactly did they tell you?"
Gail Avilez, Grandmother of 4 students
"I think last week Wednesday or Thursday they told us that no school Monday and they would do home training and I didn't like that I want to see my kids go to school. This Covid thing here is done. Two years of staying home. They could have been rebuilding the school then. Now, at the last minute they want to break down the school and fix it again, when will they go back to school, next year September?"
"I have my work that I do too and they are in the way they need to go to school I don't want bikini running around all day around me they need to go to school."
Cherisse Halsall:
"And do you feel that it is harder for them, that they are less concentrated when they are doing this online thing?"
Gail Avilez, Grandmother of 4 students
"Yes, they aren't doing good, They don't care, they don't study."
And back at the school we learned that the decision to demolish came from safety concerns.
Jeremy Cayetano, General Manager, Anglican Pre and Primary Schools
"We are not sure if it is even going to be demolished this school year, the closest if we are going to get support from SIF the closest support is 2023 right? So, we have to put something concrete in place right now. It will not I don't think unless of course, somebody comes out to say alright we can help you all let's go but outside of that from what we are almost sure of it's not going to be this school year but shortly thereafter when we are ready to re-build then we will have to demolish the building."
"So, the folks who are concerned, we are going to hopefully be able to keep the design and so because we know that it is near and dear to a lot of people. So, that is the idea. So we are actively working on sourcing the funds to rebuild the building and if anybody out there has a few million dollars that they don't need call us."
And until that good-samaritan or multi - millionaire alumni comes along, St. Mary's is at an existential crossroads: it has to provide classrooms for everyone between Infant 2 and Standard 5 and it has to do it quickly.
As you heard St. Mary's Standard six students, the oldest group, will be having face-to-face instruction in the church while Infant 1, the youngest students, have a wooden building on the way that is expected to be delivered in the last week of September. Additional wooden buildings are expected to arrive every week to house the remaining students in order of youngest to oldest with the expectation that all students should be in a classroom by the middle of November.
We reached out to the Fort George area rep, Henry Charles Usher for comment. Late this evening, he responded via text saying, "We were made aware of the poor state of the building earlier this year and the Ministry of Education engaged a contractor to do an assessment. That assessment was completed about 2 months ago and said the building was unstable due to advanced age. The recommendation was to demolish and rebuild. This was provided to the Anglican School Management. It's unfortunate they took so long to inform parents. We will continue to work with this historic school to make sure it is safe and the students can return to classes."
