Students entering Grades 7 to 9 returned to the newly rehabilitated L-Shaped Building of Elmore Stoutt High School for the first time in two years since the school was extensively damaged by the hurricanes of 2017.

The building which has been named after veteran educator Ms. Lillian Adorothy Turnbull was officially opened on Friday, September 6.

Premier and Minister of Finance, Honourable Andrew A. Fahie said that he is elated to see the day come to fruition and thanked local contractors for making the occasion a reality. He also remarked that Ms. Turnbull is more than deserving to have the building named in her honour.

Minister for Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries & Agriculture, Dr. the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley said the children of the Virgin Islands deserve to have a proper place to be educated and although bureaucracy and red tapes were   challenges at times it did not stop the team from pushing forward.

Contracts were signed by four contractors to have the building ready for the new school year. They included Roy Garraway of Quality Construction Ltd., Brian Marshall of Metro Construction Ltd., Autley Crabbe of Autland Heavy Equipment Ltd. and Rayneau Gajathuar of Construction Industrial and Equipment, a company out of St. Lucia collaborating with local contractor Mr. Gregory Hodge.

The minister thanked the contractors for their generous monetary donations and assured residents that the monies will be spent on enhancing the school. Prospective donors are invited to continue to contribute to the refurbishment of the building as the Government of the Virgin Islands is making plans to construct new buildings on the school campus to accommodate more students.

The rehabilitation of the building allowed for several changes to be made that will aid in making the learning environment for students and teachers enjoyable. These include raising the level of the windows on the ground floor to mitigate flooding, installing aluminum reinforced windows, Painting classrooms with Low-VOC – Paint, Installing LED Lights and ductless air conditioning units along with other technology equipment.

Other buildings that opened on time for the 2019 to 2020 school year are Building I of the Bregado Flax Educational Center and the newly constructed Enis Adams Primary School.

The passage of the 2017 hurricanes severely damaged the Elmore Stoutt High School and a shift system (half day) was instated to accommodate students without classrooms. Since the reopening of the school year, all students in the Territory have returned to full day classes.

To view the full official Handover ceremony video for the L. Adorothy Turnbull Building, visit the Government’s Facebook and YouTube page @BVIGovernment.