HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The majority of Guam Department of Education schools continue to operate without credentials after barely passing sanitary inspections as parents and employees express concern over the state of children’s schools.
B.P. Carbullido Elementary School and Tiyan High School were the two latest public schools to pass sanitary inspections conducted by the Department of Public Health and Social Services. Both schools barely passed with a “C” grade.
GDOE congratulated B.P. Carbullido on Wednesday for passing the inspection, which was conducted Aug. 8. The school passed with 39 demerits, according to the Public Health inspection report.
The school was cited for inadequate vector controls in various areas including male and female restrooms, the Head Start storage room, the electrical room, the water tank room and an area of the cafeteria.
Vector control deals with limiting the transmission of pathogens, according to the World Health Organization. In this case, the lack of vector control gives way to potential pest breeding sites and transmission of vector-borne diseases, according to the DPHSS inspection report.
The school was also cited for its floors, walls, ceilings and windows that were not maintained or were unclean or in disrepair in various rooms.
Six demerits were received for inadequate ventilation in four restrooms and nine classrooms and the nurse’s restroom.
Areas of the elementary school were self-condemned by the administration. These include T Wing rooms, T1 and T2, which were damaged by Typhoon Mawar.
40 demerits
Tiyan High School didn’t do much better with 40 demerits noted in an inspection conducted Aug. 3. The sanitary inspection report cited the high school for inadequate vector control in areas to include the cafeteria.
Indoor air temperature did not meet requirements of 75 to 83 degrees in a number of classrooms and restrooms, according to DPHSS.
Floors, walls and ceilings were not cleaned or maintained or they were found in disrepair including areas in the school’s D Wing.
In the time after the inspection was done and the “C” grade issued by Public Health, Sen. Chris Barnett, who chairs the Legislature’s education committee, received reports from concerned parents who sent pictures of mold in the hallway of the D building, and water dripping from the ceiling.
This was one of many concerns the senator received since schools opened their doors Aug. 23.
The senator shared complaints from parents and teachers at various schools with The Guam Daily Post. Complaints ranged from mold in classrooms at Inalåhan Elementary School and Capt. H.B. Price Elementary School, to students at Finegayan Elementary School eating meals in hallways and “unbearable” classrooms at a number of schools as a result of broken air conditioners.
“I had to cover a class today which was unbearably hot. I started to feel sick 10 minutes into the class. My student did not feel like doing their work due to the heat. This is ridiculous already! Those people downtown should sit in the hot classrooms so they know how the teacher and student feel everyday! The blowers they put into the classroom aren’t even fans, they’re used to dry floors,” a Finegayan employee reported to Barnett.
A sign at the entrance to B.P. Carbullido Elementary School warns visitors to seek assistance before entering the Barrigada campus, as seen July 24, 2023.
