Premier Dr. the Honourable Natalio Wheatley has confirmed that the Elmore Stoutt High School is still on track to be completed in time for the commencement of the upcoming school year on September 5th.
The premier’s comments come following indications from the Minister for Education, who told the House of Assembly in late July that the works on the school compound were about 70% completed.
Noting the importance of having the school ready to welcome back students in September, Wheatley applauded the management of the Recovery and Development Agency for their success in keeping the project on track in the face of narrow deadlines.
“I think the Elmore Stoutt High School is just a shining example of the type of management that they’ve brought to the table… No one thought that a project of that size would be able to be done in the space of time that it has been done and it’s a testament to the management of the RDA, their skill, and their processes that they have in place”, he said.
On the occasion, Dr. Wheatley also spoke to the current situation facing the Althea Scatliffe Primary School.
He explained that a decision regarding how to move forward with rehabilitating or completely reconstructing the school will have to be made soon.
Dr. Wheatley told the press, “We’re going to have to make that decision pretty quickly because of course we will move swiftly to get the school rebuilt with loan funds… that’s going to be a process that we move swiftly on, so I’ll anticipate in the next couple months not only will that decision be made but we’re going to advance the process of getting designs and going through our procurement process”.
Premier Wheatley said the territory had a duty to honour the memory of all the dedicated educators who would have graced its classrooms over the years, by restoring the school to its former glory.
Noting requests for the process to be completed with the same efficiency as was seen with the Elmore Stoutt High School, the Premier assured that the Althea Scatliffe Primary School is a priority for the government and will be treated with the due urgency.