News

Rainy day woes at primary school

THE DRIVEWAY OF the Seaview Gardens Primary School floods whenever it rains excessively, so with summer school in progress and a hurricane threat almost every week, the students may soon need a boat to get to school.

The yard for the school, situated on Manley Pathway in Seaview Gardens, floods every time it rains because of blocked drains in the area which prevent the run-off of water. Added to this, the driveway is low, causing water to settle there.

"When it rains yu have one likkle sink de so, (and) it flood," said student Rickesha Williams, in describing the driveway.

Although a gutter was built to help with drainage, it is ineffective, and Joy Allen, vice-principal of the school, said the flooding has become a serious problem.

"It's like a river out there when the rain starts to fall. We cannot get out. We have to wait until it runs off," she said.

Precaution

Allen also said that whenever it appears that there will be rain classes are dismissed earlier as a precaution and to prevent the children from walking through the water.

As an alternative to wading through the water, teachers and students are sometimes forced to use a back gate. This, however, is usually very muddy and not a viable alternative. She says that although members of the community are constantly cleaning the drains, the problem still occurs. "Dem get it fix already, but someting needs to be done," said Pamela King, a parent.

When THE STAR spoke to the principal, Elaine Jones, she said that the members of the school board; the Member of Parliament, O.T. Williams; the education officer, Evadne Small and the Councillor, Hazel Anderson are all aware of the problem.

She said Anderson had made an effort to get the problem fixed, but it was now beyond what she could do.

Ms. Anderson said, however, that she plans to speak with the National Water Commission (NWC) to borrow a piece of equipment that will clear underground drains, which she believes will solve the problem.