Students at Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School were dismissed early Tuesday after a majority of teachers and staff did not report for duty, citing ongoing concerns about mold, heat, leaks, and other maintenance issues that they say have gone unaddressed for months.
The Virgin Islands Education Department issued an “urgent alert” around midday announcing that the St. Thomas campus would close at noon “due to low attendance of teachers.” Lunch and bus service were provided before dismissal.
In an anonymous statement shared with the Source, members of the school’s faculty and paraprofessional staff said conditions remain unsafe and unsustainable. “The students and staff are still experiencing the same lack of air conditioning, moldy classrooms, spotty internet, and leaks,” the group said. “The issues remain without any clear answers on how they will be solved. The next step that personnel is requesting is intervention from our senators. BCB school will not be ignored or placed in a corner. They need help, and our elected officials have a duty to its over 500 people’s cry.”
The early dismissal comes less than two weeks after faculty and students staged a demonstration outside the Bovoni campus, calling attention to failing air-conditioning units and possible air-quality concerns. At that time, Bureau of School Construction and Maintenance Director Craig Benjamin acknowledged that the school’s systems were under strain, explaining that his office is responsible for maintaining more than 760 AC units territory-wide with only two full-time technicians. “We could lose at least three units every other day,” Benjamin said in an earlier interview.
On Tuesday, Benjamin told the Source that his agency has been working steadily to address air-quality and infrastructure problems at the school. He said a professional cleaning was conducted two weeks ago to address reports of mold, followed by the installation of a large-capacity AC unit on the gymnasium roof and servicing of classroom units. Those efforts were complicated when a transformer servicing one of the new systems failed, temporarily halting repairs.
“We’re doing the best we can with the technicians we have on staff,” Benjamin said, noting that repairs requiring contracted vendors have been delayed by the temporary closure of the government’s financial system at the end of the fiscal year. “We can’t issue purchase orders or engage outside contractors until the system reopens,” he said, though he added that internal work is continuing in the meantime.
Benjamin confirmed that BCB is slated for a full modernization beginning in December under a contract with the Consigli/Benton Joint Venture 1 — a partnership between Consigli Construction and J. Benton Construction — that will convert the campus into a PreK-8 educational facility. The project, part of the Education Department’s multi-school modernization initiative funded through FEMA and local recovery dollars, includes structural repairs, new classroom wings, upgraded ventilation systems, and modern learning environments. “It’s a challenge keeping up with older systems that have suffered from salt exposure and years of deferred maintenance,” Benjamin said. “We’re making temporary patch repairs where we can until the contractor takes full control of the site later this year.”
Photos shared with the Source Tuesday showed ceiling damage and visible mold in several classrooms and in the auditorium. Benjamin attributed part of the damage to condensation from one of six rooftop air-conditioning units, which he said has since been repaired. “We’re coordinating with the consultants handling the modernization project to make sure that problem is permanently resolved,” he added.
Benjamin said he often works side by side with maintenance crews to ensure repairs are done correctly. “We inherited schools in poor condition, but we’re doing everything we can with the resources available,” he said.
Education officials said the department remains in communication with staff and is continuing efforts to stabilize conditions ahead of students’ return on Wednesday.
