April 15, 2003 – Senator Ronald E. Russell, Committee on Youth and Human Services chairman, held town meetings over the weekend on both St. Thomas and St. Croix. The meetings were held to address school violence and security, parental involvement, and The V.I. Community Service and Civic Education Act.
"The purpose of the forums," Russell said, "was to gather information from the community on various aspects of the education system."
Senator Louis Hill said at the first meeting on Saturday, "We are marching against VLTs (video lottery terminals); certainly I thought we would be marching in support of our kids today."
Senator Roosevelt David said, "What we spend in intellectual capital should be seen as an investment."
On St. Croix, the Education Committee heard from teachers and PTA representatives from various schools. The consensus was that parents need to be more proactive with their children and more emphasis needs to be placed on school security.
School security was a top issue at both meetings. "We are in a serious situation and must take a serious look at the messages we are sending our children," said Stevie Henry, a parent of two.
Both meetings will be rebroadcast on Thursday at 10 a.m. on cable channel 32.
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