BOE vice chairman Herman Atalig, who is also the Capital Improvement Projects Committee chairman of the board, said they want Hopwood students back on their Chalan Piao campus in the next school year.
Because Hopwood was hit hard by Super Typhoon Yutu in Oct. 2018 — 35 of its classrooms were destroyed — its students were relocated to a temporary campus in Koblerville where they have been attending classes in military tents.
In order to reduce the repair cost of Hopwood, BOE member Philip Mendiola-Long on Tuesday said the Public School System should “reach out” to businesses that may want to “sponsor” the renovation.
In return, Mendiola-Long said the school can display the names of the sponsors on the school fence.
“That fence along Beach Road is very valuable advertising space,” he added.
Hopwood’s temporary classrooms were slashed by burglar(s) over the weekend. Photo by Bryan Manabat
There was also a proposal to relocate the school to As Perdido, but the board neither approved nor rejected it.
Atalig said they only have 16 months to provide the Federal Emergency Management Agency a plan for a new Hopwood campus.
He added that FEMA will provide $23 million for the project.
“So we need to identify the location and move forward. We have to agree whether to rebuild the school at its original site or at different location,” Atalig told the BOE members.
BOE member Andrew Orsini said they need to get the parents’ input before deciding on whether to relocate Hopwood or not.
“My understanding is that most of its students reside near that area so I don’t know how it will work out as far as the logistics, including bus transportation, traffic, and other things, are concerned if Hopwood will be relocated,” Orsini said.
