Storm wreckage still haunts Portland, St Mary schools

At least three schools in St Mary and Portland are scrambling to complete critical repairs ahead of the 2026-2027 academic year after suffering structural damage during the passage of Hurricane Melissa last year.

St Mary Technical High’s sixth-form building was ravaged by the Category 5 storm, which not only ripped off the roof but also caused structural damage and destroyed furniture and other assets.

“It’s a situation where school administrators now have to put in measures to accommodate sixth-form students in other classroom areas, which has led to overcrowding,” St Mary South Eastern Member of Parliament Christopher Brown noted.

He told The Sunday Gleaner that he is anxious that the school could experience a shortage of space to adequately and comfortably facilitate teaching and learning come September.

At Baxter’s Mountain Primary, also in St Mary, remedial work is yet to begin after it lost its roof as the structure is now considered unsafe.

“We never realised the full extent of the damage until the Ministry of Education sent in a technical team to look at the actual damage and to do an assessment,” Principal Sherene Harris told The Sunday Gleaner.

“It was then revealed that the entire structure of the school was compromised and was infested by termites. As a result, the Ministry of Education ... has taken the decision to supply us with containers to commence classes round about the second week of September. These containers will be retrofitted with solar panels and air-conditioned units will also be installed.”

Harris said the alternative accommodation will allow classes to continue while the ministry builds a new school.

“So we look forward to the start of school in September in our new environment,” she concluded.

At Happy Grove High School in Portland, which was hard hit by back-to-back hurricanes in 2024 and 2025, there is still work to be carried out.

Acting Principal Devon Wilson told The Sunday Gleaner that while Hurricane Melissa did not impact the school heavily, Hurricane Beryl dealt the school a severe blow in July 2024.

“Work on the school is still incomplete, and I spoke to the overseer of work this week about the progress of the work,” Wilson said last week.

“My understanding is that there appears to be an issue with the disbursement of funds, which is not done on time, resulting in the delay to the completion. Work on the roof is completed and electrical work has been done.

“We are starting to get worried and I had a discussion with our principal about the delay. We were told earlier that work would have been completed by Easter, so you can understand our frustration,” he concluded.

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