DURING the George Washington High School stakeholder meeting on the proposed double sessions for the school, Guam Department of Education Superintendent Jon Fernandez stated he would consider delaying the STEM renovation project for GWHS, if this was the best option for the school.
Fernandez explained: “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. But if there was a preference to delay it, we would also consider that as an option.”
Renovations of the 17 Science Technology Engineering and Math, or STEM, classrooms are expected to start soon since American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds had already been set aside for the project.
One of the critical issues about the project was the requirement to obligate the ARRA funds by the end of September this year. However, Fernandez said the Guam Department of Education may request for an extension of the renovation project.
“If an extension is needed we would want to look at that option. I think this particular project was not at risk of hitting that Sept. 30 deadline. If we want to delay the project, we obviously would have to go back and talk to the vendor about what that would mean and whether there would be costs,” Fernandez explained
“What I told parents was to let me know what they think. Let me know what you want and if you want to accelerate the STEM classes and have it in this year, then we will try to get to DPW and other partners to try to get all the logistics handled. That’s my commitment to them. If they want it to be delayed, that is actually an easy solution – to delay it. The hard part is to try to get it down as soon as possible. I promise that I will try to address the issues that they raised,” Fernandez added.
Once the renovations start, GWHS will be left with 85 classrooms for 2,700 students. To address the classroom shortage, adopting a double session for the school and other schedule options was explored during the stakeholder meeting.
UMS
Aside from GWHS, GDOE will also undertake renovations for 16 STEM classrooms in Untalan Middle School. A total of $1.8 million has already been allocated for the project, according to Fernandez.
“The contract for this work is under legal review by the Attorney General's Office, and we hope it will go to the governor shortly,” he said.
Fernandez said that department is committed to getting all of the projects done in time.
“We understand the urgency to deliver these classrooms for our students as early as we can this school year. I want our kids to benefit from this investment as soon as possible. As a department, we need to ensure that we are closely monitoring these projects, not just for timeliness, but also for quality – to ensure we have a high-quality final product that we can all be proud of,” he said.
Comments
Jon has made a critical, job ending move here:
1] He made a major decision affecting thousands of students and families all by himself.
2] He only talked / shared his ideas with parents and students, none of which matter.
3] He failed / refused to ask permission of the GEPB who run the DPSS system with brutal control.
4] He failed to appear before the House of Hessler and ask their permission to do his job. There will be consequenses for this slight.
5] Soon, he will be brought before the H o H and grilled , beratted and insulted for hours. With luck this inquistion will last only a day, but seasoned observers say 2 days minimum....remember the 3 days of the GEC
6] Jon is a doer, he will not last.
7] He needs to be a talker. The real job of talkers is to talk, that is why they are better at it. The real job of doers is to do as they have little time for talking.
8] In 2 years Jon will grow weary of his weekly grilling at the boot of the House of Hessler, he will wonder why he gave up a plum job in the states for the horse pucky we serve up on Guam.....
Hast[censored]
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