A protest outside Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School Wednesday morning drew attention to ongoing maintenance problems in the territory’s schools, including failing air conditioning units.
Craig Benjamin, executive director of the Bureau of School Construction and Maintenance, acknowledged the issues and pointed to staffing and funding shortages as major obstacles to making repairs.
“The thing that I know is bothering them, and us, is that the classrooms are hot,” said Benjamin, referring to the protesters voicing their frustration over the failing air conditioning units on campus.
Benjamin explained that the bureau is responsible for maintaining more than 760 air conditioning units across the district, with only two government-employed technicians available to handle repairs.
The limited staff means that repairs are often delayed, a growing problem as failures occur frequently. “We could lose at least three [units] every other day,” Benjamin said. “We have a limited staff to address these issues with the air conditioning units.”
He noted the side effects of this, “If the air conditions fail, the classrooms become hot. When it’s hot, the buildings actually perspire. When the building starts to perspire, you create a situation where it becomes musky. So this is why it’s important, it’s imperative, that we have the air conditioning in these facilities functioning.”
The protest was prompted not only by reports of malfunctioning air conditioning units, but also because of suspected mold or mildew in classrooms. “There was evidence of mildew forming because the rooms were hot and the rooms were closed,” said Benjamin
Benjamin explained that while mold was not confirmed, and there was only evidence of mildew, affected classrooms were treated as if mold was present. “We just took a precautionary treatment.”
According to Benjamin, the bureau is doing what it can for BCBMS with the resources currently available. “We are addressing the issues as quickly as possible, and we are doing the best that we can with what we have available to us, and that’s including staffing and funding,” he said.
Recent efforts include the installation of a new large-capacity AC unit on the gymnasium roof and the cleaning and treatment of classrooms with mildew. However, further repairs are on hold until the government’s financial system reopens at the end of the fiscal year, expected to be the first week of November.
“We’re at the mercy of this financial system opening back up with the government so that we can engage in the contracts with the air conditioning companies to help with the installation of new units and repairs,” said Benjamin.
“We won’t be able to issue purchase orders or bring in contractors until the first week of November, when the financial system opens back up. The first phase of modernization is supposed to kick start, tentatively, in December when school closes for the Christmas holidays,” he continued
Benjamin emphasized that the community should understand that they are not waiting until November to make improvements. “We are doing what we can right now, until the financial system is opened, by engaging the technician we have on staff to deal with the situation,” said Benjamin. “We could utilize the second AC technician once he’s freed up from what he’s doing at the other schools.”
He cautioned, however, that help from the district’s second AC technician isn’t guaranteed, noting that with more than 760 units to maintain, roughly three failing every other day, and only two technicians currently available, resources are stretched thin
St. Croix Source
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