I am pleased to join my colleague the Hon. Diallo Rabain - Minister of Education & Workforce Development to report on progress over the summer in our schools. To say we are nowhere near where we were last year would be an understatement.
The Ministry of Public Works, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education facilities management team, plan out the summer school works early in the year so that when schools break for summer vacation our teams and numerous contractors can begin work immediately at the start of the summer recess. All schools have been inspected by the team and a list of tasks agreed and assigned to various work crews. In addition to these, any issues identified by the Health and Safety Coordinator were included with those tasks. There is a limited 9 week window to complete works and all of the Public Lands and Building’s teams have been assigned to schools. It has been all hands on deck! In practical terms what this means is – all 7 work units and 102 tradesmen of the Building Section are working in schools.
The capital works were budgeted at $3 million and we will spend very close to that when all works are completed. The largest amount to date being $302,000 for the new gymnasium roof at Dellwood Middle School. Salaries, materials and supplies and small contracts are estimated to be an additional $1.5 million, some of which will be capitalized depending on the works. As always - schools are a priority for this government and funds will be moved from other projects to cover any shortfall.
This year we started the summer with 1,081 tasks and 26 capital projects but as the summer progressed and more items were identified, we are currently at 1,337 tasks and 39 capital projects. This is normal as the works progress we often uncover items that need addressing which were not previously identified. In addition, throughout the summer, right the way up to when teachers return to school, we receive requests for additional works. Our goal is to complete as much work as we can prior to the 4th September 2018 when the teachers return to school. 30 of the capital projects will be completed prior to 2 school starting and 9 are being deferred to other school breaks. To date, we have 781 tasks completed and signed off in our database. Of the 556 outstanding, many are either completed and not yet signed off or are nearing completion and will soon be signed off. We expect that when schools restart on the 10th September the completion numbers will be significantly higher. Any outstanding tasks will be tackled during the school year.
With respect to the schools condition surveys promised last year to identify required works and the viability of school buildings so the department can plan, budget and schedule those works - the surveys were tendered but there were a number of issues with the bids and concerns raised by bidders about how to price for unexpected eventualities.
We have since which decided to conduct an internal survey of a primary school as a test case to iron out the issues and based on the results changes will be made to the tender documents to better reflect what is required following which the project will be retendered . In the interim a project is underway to utilize the newly purchased 3-d scanner to create ‘as built drawings’ for all schools as well as numbering of rooms for ease of reference for both help desk and reporting purposes. Ultimately, surveys will be carried out on other key Government buildings as well.
Additionally, another primary school will serve as the pilot project for the installation of more energy efficient LED lighting to reduce electricity costs. All of the schools will be ready for students on the 10th September and will be safe to occupy. Works do not stop here however, we will continue throughout the school year to work with the Facilities Management team at Education to respond to any maintenance issues that arise to ensure the schools are maintained and safe to occupy.
