Central High students and staff can go on campus Monday morning to pick up bags, books and other personal belongings before beginning class Tuesday on the Educational Complex campus, the Department of Education announced.
The campus will be open to faculty and staff from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Monday.
"We encourage staff to use this opportunity to access the campus and retrieve all personal belongings, along with the tools you need to perform your duties," said Central High Principal Janasee Sinclair. "An administrator will be on site to distribute your keys to you."
Students who need to go to their lockers to pick up bags, books, etc. must meet at the Central High Gym, Sinclair said. They will be escorted to their lockers only, based on the following schedule:
10 a.m. – 9th grade students
10:45 a.m. – 10th grade students
11:15 – 11th grade students
11:45 – 12th grade students
Sinclair urged all students and staff to be on time and stick to the schedule.
The Central High School campus has been closed since March 18 after sporadic outbreaks of a foul odor caused two to three dozen students and faculty to report to the emergency room at Juan F. Luis Memorial Hospital complaining of symptoms that ranged from nausea and skin irritation to shortness of breath and a burning sensation in the lungs.
For weeks officials from the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, the Waste Management Authority, the V.I. National Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have scoured the campus seeking the cause of the odor. An abandoned section of sewer line with two manholes on campus have been identified as a likely source of the trouble.
But until the problem has been eliminated, students will share the campus of St. Croix Educational Complex. On Friday the Department of Education announced a plan for split sessions, with Complex students going to class in the morning and Central Students in class during the afternoon. A schedule is available here.