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Terry Gets Firsthand Look at St. John Schools

Aug. 12, 2008 — Education Commissioner LaVerne Terry, fresh from a tour of Julius E. Sprauve and Guy Benjamin schools on St. John, said that while she doubts they will have every last bit of maintenance completed in time for opening, the important items like bathrooms will be in working order.
Standing outside Sprauve School's Clarice Thomas Annex, Terry said there are some things that still need tweaking.
St. John Administrator Leona Smith, who was at the Clarice Thomas Annex, said that it looked to her like repairs and maintenance still had a ways to go before school started on Aug. 25.
At least one teacher wasn't satisfied. The teacher, who didn't want to be identified, said her classroom hadn't been painted in four years. She said she washes the walls every year to freshen them up, but that was no substitute for a coat of paint.
Terry went on the Sprauve School tour accompanied by Assistant Principal Brenda Dalmida and Deputy Superintendent Michael Harrigan. The commissioner declined to have the media and parents accompany her as she made the rounds.
"It's an informal opportunity for her to see what's going on," Harrigan said.
Alice Krall, the representative from the Sprauve Parent Teacher Student Association, said she was invited earlier to go on the tour, but she had to wait with the other parents for Terry to finish her rounds.
Myrtle Barry was one of the parents waiting to see Terry. She said later that afternoon that the school bus that takes her son from Cruz Bay to Guy Benjamin in Coral Bay doesn't have a crossing guard on board.
Barry said she told Terry that bullying and "unsafe" things such as open emergency exit doors occur on the bus. She said Terry listened and told her someone would get back to her on the issue.
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