Feb. 23, 2006 – John H. Woodson Junior High School on St. Croix will not be "operable" until the next school year, said Education Commissioner Noreen Michael at an Education, Culture and Youth Committee meeting Thursday. Michael said that until August, Woodson students would continue to attend classes at the Elena Christian Junior High School, where double sessions have been ongoing since Woodson closed last September.
Michael assured senators that Education has continued to "work aggressively" to address Woodson's mold problem, and has hired Safety Solutions Consultants Inc. to begin a moisture mapping survey of the campus.
The survey, she said, would take a month to complete, would identify the sources of moisture causing the mold growth, and would give the department a "better idea of the scope and cost of the entire project."
Michael said the department is finalizing a scope of work for the school's parking lot, which floods regularly because of various drainage problems.
"We have submitted a revised scope of work for the parking lot to Public Works for review, and then forwarded it to the Department of Planning and Natural Resources for an earth change permit," Michael said.
"We hope that by next week we would be able to send the plans to Property and Procurement so the project could be put out for bidding."
Michael also updated senators on the status of mold remediation at the Lew Muckle Elementary School, which re-opened Feb. 13 after being closed for more than two weeks.
"The mold cleanup has been completed, we have decontaminated all the classrooms, and we have resealed areas where leaks have sprung up," she said.
Present at Thursday's meeting were Sens. Roosevelt C. David, Liston Davis, Juan Figueroa-Serville, Louis P. Hill, Neville James, Malone, Terrence "Positive" Nelson, and Ronald E. Russell.

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