The Education Department’s staffing decisions for next school year and plans to close St. Thomas’ Evelyn Marcelli Elementary came under sharp criticism from senators, teachers’ union leaders and parents during a Senate oversight hearing Tuesday evening.
In May, Education officials announced plans to shut Marcelli permanently when this school year ends, citing dwindling enrollment, major structural problems, potential safety hazards, financial constraints and difficulty hiring a school nurse and English as a second language (ESL) instructors, among other factors.
Education also announced a major school-management shakeup, transferring a number of principals to other schools. Marcelli Principal Whitman Browne will be taking over at Guy Benjamin on St. John, while that school’s principal, Dionne Wells, will be moving over to Julius Sprauve.
During Tuesday’s hearing of the Committee on Education, Youth and Culture, St. Thomas-St. John Educational Administrator’s Association President Carver Farrow argued against closing Marcelli because any closing of a school is "disruptive, unsettling and emotional for all involved." Farrow also argued the closing would not save a significant amount of money.
St. Croix Federation of Teachers President James Howell and Farrow said any school closing should be done in consultation with the teachers, parents and staff, but "it seems consultation was not sought by education officials."
St. Thomas-St. John Federation of Teachers President Vernelle Delagarde argued against closing Marcelli because the school has been performing well, meeting federal Annual Yearly Progress measures in consecutive years. While cutting costs may be necessary, "closing Marcelli should not be the answer," said Delagarde.
Over a dozen parents, PTA volunteers and educators testified in opposition to the closure as well, with some saying they felt "disrespected" because they were not "consulted" before the decision was made. Others argued closing a school and having its students transferred to other schools is inherently damaging to the students and should never be done.
Education Commissioner LaVerne Terry and St. Thomas-St. John Insular Superintendent Jeanette Smith-Barry agreed the school has done very well but said the students and teachers would be able to do well in new schools after the move as well. They argued the decision to close Marcelli came after a two-year process and is based not just on cost-savings, but on a plethora of factors, from student safety to the school’s long-term viability.
"I really hope people don’t think we can take $150,000 and fix Marcelli," said Smith-Barry. "There are issues of safety: Do you know there is only one way in and out of that school? Also there is no room for expansion."
She added that because the school is small, problems faced by the whole system, such as hiring qualified staff, are magnified.
"There is no English as a second language program at Marcelli, there is no school nurse at Marcelli and there won’t be for the foreseeable future," Smith-Barry said. Terry said hiring nurses is especially difficult because union contracts require school nurses be paid the same as other employees and less than their counterparts at the territory’s hospitals.
The Education Department’s staffing decisions, particularly the decision to transfer Marcelli Principal Browne to Guy Benjamin, also came under fire. Browne himself testified he felt the decision was punitive, because he has what he called a "difficult relationship" with management and the new post would require him to commute from his home on St. Thomas’ western end to the eastern end of St. John.
Smith-Barry denied the move was political, saying Browne was doing well and his skills would help Guy Benjamin Elementary.
"Mr. Browne is doing a very good job, and Ms. Wells is doing a really good job," Smith-Barry said. "But you can’t look at doing a good job as a reason you cannot move them. It can also be a reason to move them to where they are most needed."
While acknowledging that the final decision-making authority rested with the Education Department, several senators urged Terry and Smith-Barry to reconsider some of the staffing transfers and to either reconsider the Marcelli closure or to work harder at explaining the reasons to the public.
"All the testimony points to one thing: that the closing of Marcelli school was a terribly mishandled decision," said Sen. Louis Hill.
Sen. Nereida "Nellie" Rivera-O’Reilly also said it was "mishandled" and that the opposition and controversy "could have been avoided by consulting with parents and teachers."
No votes were taken.
Present were Hill, Sens. Janette Millin-Young, Shaun-Michael Malone, Craig Barshinger, Carlton "Ital" Dowe, and Sammuel Sanes. Sen. Neville James was absent.
Noncommittee members present were Sens. Ronald Russell, Celestino White, Patrick Sprauve, Terrence "Positive" Nelson, Alvin Williams Jr., Usie Richards and Nereida "Nellie" Rivera-O’Reilly.
