The Minister of Education, The Hon. Diallo Rabain provided the following update:
I would like to take this opportunity to provide a status update on the progress made around addressing issues at TN Tatem Middle School. It is important to me that I honour my commitment to inform all stakeholders about this matter before the end of School Term 3.
Let me briefly take a moment to recap the work that has already been done at TN Tatem:
- In December 2016, TN Tatem was closed due to mould issues. A report submitted in December 2017 listed a recommendation that stated the following: “While results of air quality testing through the majority of the TN Tatem Middle School campus showed no cause for significant concern, a visual assessment of the building indicated several factors, particularly relating to water intrusion, which will result in worsening of conditions if left unaddressed.”
- On February 3rd, 2017, a few weeks before the school was reopened, when asked via a Parliamentary question about T.N. Tatem in the House of Assembly, “Would the Honorable Minister, please inform this Honourable House of the cost of the repairs and remediation?” The then Minister of Education, Wayne Scott replied “A total of $93,000 has been disbursed for repairs and mould remediation. This comprises Air quality testing at $18,000; heavy duty cleaning at $38,000, and mould abatement at $37,000”. We now know that these repairs did not address the water intrusion as recommended by the Air Quality Report received in December of 2016, which I reinforce that the report stated would only lead to a “worsening of conditions if left unaddressed.”
- In October of 2018, scheduled health and safety inspections were conducted at TN Tatem Middle School. The report showed that the school was safe for occupation except for one room which was closed to have necessary remediation works carried out.
- In February and March of 2019, additional reports were done as mould, and air quality issues once again began to show. The report stated, “The issues that we noted today are the same issues which we noted back in 2013 and are the same issues that closed the school in 2017…”. The Department Facilities Teams immediately began to look at how to address the source of the issues.
- On April 8 of this year, the Ministry and Department of Education received a letter from the TN Tatem PTSA voicing concerns regarding the health and safety of the school building. As a result of these new concerns, students and teachers from TN Tatem were temporarily relocated to Purvis Primary School, Paget Primary, Heron Bay, and the Hamilton Fire Station while the school were inspected by the Health and Safety Officer, Mr Titus Gordan as requested by the PTSA and school staff.
- By the end of April, after the temporary relocations, all current TN Tatem students have been transferred to Sandy’s Secondary, Dellwood and Whitney Institute Middle Schools, with the TN Tatem staff redeployed to the same middle schools. While the decision to close TN Tatem for the rest of the school year while the reports that date back as far as 2013 were reviewed to decide on whether all necessary and complete repairs could be made to enable the school to reopen in September 2019.
I can report today that the Department of Education Facilities Team, in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Works, has utilised the reports received in 2013, 2017 and 2019 to complete an assessment of the school building to determine the extent of the repairs and maintenance required as well as the potential costs. I have been advised the necessary repairs will take at least ten months and cost approximately $3 million.
The length of time and projected cost to effect the necessary repairs have informed my decision not to reopen TN Tatem Middle School for the 2019/2020 school year.
This decision is critical and was not made lightly, as safe and healthy learning, and teaching environment is paramount for our students and staff at TN Tatem Middle School. We are invested in ensuring that this remains at the forefront of all decisions made in regards to our schools.
To date, I have met with:
- The TN Tatem PTSA Executive,
- the TN Tatem School Principal as well as
- the TN Tatem Health & Safety Chairperson.
- I have also met with the TN Tatem Staff and
- parents of current TN Tatem students to inform them of my decision.
It was critical to meet with school staff and the parents of TN Tatem students to listen and obtain feedback as we discuss next steps, before holding this press conference. My goal is to maintain a transparent and collaborative approach with all stakeholders, in the best interest of our children and staff.
The Ministry and the reports that date back to 2013 have confirmed the issues with the school and also sadly confirmed the failure of the previous administration to address these concerns when given the opportunity during the school closure in 2016.
These are the very same issues that have brought us to the place we are today. The place in which our teachers and parents were made to feel as if their opinions didn’t matter, and that should have never happened. I wish to commend the teachers and parents for standing up for their students and themselves.
Moving forward, we are in the process of reallocating the students that would have been admitted to TN Tatem as M1 students for the next academic year, as well as talking to current parents of TN Tatem students about their current school placings. The Ministry of Education will also do all we can to assist our parents and students to ensure their learning experience during the next school year is as productive as possible. Additionally, parents will be provided with vouchers as necessary to mitigate the pressure of having to buy new uniforms for the new school the students are attending.
In regards to the future of TN Tatem, this decision to close is at the moment applicable to the upcoming school year only. As we move forward with our plans to reform education and phase out Middle Schools, the outcome of those discussions will frame the decisions to be made on the future of TN Tatem. At this point, I cannot say what will happen at the school beyond the upcoming 2019/2020 school year.
I genuinely believe that we must continue to work together and maintain an open dialogue to ensure that the safety, health, and high-quality education is at the forefront of every decision we make on behalf of our students.