WITH the impending renovation of the 17 STEM classrooms at George Washington High School comes another challenge: how to address the bussing situation and schedule concerns in time for the opening of classes in August.

During the GWHS stakeholder meeting yesterday, parents and students listened as GWHS Assistant Principal Sophie Duenas presented the different schedule options for the next school year. First of the possible options involves the school pursuing double sessions on campus while the second entails GWHS classes sharing space with Untalan Middle School in Tiyan.

The feasibility of the second option was questioned since the Tiyan facility does not have enough classrooms and UMS operates on a different bell schedule.

The first option, which was earlier approved by the GWHS faculty, will have sessions for freshmen in the afternoon and morning sessions for the rest of the high school levels.

One of the biggest challenges for the GWHS community that was discussed during the meeting was the bussing schedule, a concern that was earlier raised during a roundtable discussion for the bell schedule.

“The main concern is the bussing – if they are going to pay the bus driver overtime and if they are going to pay GDOE employees overtime because of the double session. These are the things that we are discussing,” said Ronald Ayuyu, Kattan District Representative to the Guam Education Board.

He added: “I’m here to listen to the parents and the students because I know that the teachers have already voted that they are willing to do a double session. When it comes to the board, the board needs to make a decision whether to accept it or not. So, that’s why I’m here to listen to the issues.”

He added there should have been a position from the Department of Public Works earlier in regards to the bussing issue, especially in terms of how much funding they need to provide the service to the students given the circumstances.

Timeline

Jose Q. Cruz, Luchan District Representative to the GEB, said the meetings on the double session have been fruitful. However, he said the discussions failed to address an important issue: establishing a timeline that would enable students to seamlessly transition to the new school sessions.

New GDOE Superintendent Jon Fernandez was also present at the stakeholders meeting to listen to parents’ concerns. He mentioned the STEM classroom renovations had been planned and discussed for about two years.

Fernandez stated: “While it is not ideal, my preference was to figure out how we could deliver these classrooms to the students who are here. I don’t want us to continue this culture of delay. I asked parents tonight to give me their input. I told them I was hopeful that we would think about what the students needed, and if we could accelerate it on their behalf, that’s what we ought to do.”