By Jojo Santo Tomas
For Variety
HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Guam Department of Education schools were closed on Monday and will remain closed until further notice, said spokesman Damen Michael Borja.
He said the decision to keep schools closed was made around noon Sunday, following a school assessment meeting of education leaders.
“We will wait until all of our schools are ready to go, instead of opening them one at a time,” said Borja, GDOE public information officer.
None of the GDOE schools suffered any structural damage, he said, and effects from the recent Super Typhoon Sinlaku were limited compared to those from Typhoon Mawar and other storms past.
And while many of its schools are just about ready to open, health, safety and operational concerns remain at several campuses, he said.
“There is a lack of power in a decent amount of schools and a lack of water at some schools,” he said. “And even for some schools with power and water, that power is fluctuating, and water pressure may be low and, for instance, may not be able to properly flush toilets.”
He also added that drinking water has not yet been deemed safe for students and that requires further testing at each school.
“GDOE is very much in support of opening our schools that are completely safe for our students,” he said. “We do not want them to come to school and feel like they are not in a safe environment.”
Mold mitigation, as well as food preparation areas at each school that are not yet ready for service, are other concerns faced by school officials, he said.
And while campuses remain closed for students, all faculty and staff are to report to work during normal working hours, he said.
Barbara Adamos, principal at John F. Kennedy High School, said that she and her staff reported to work an hour after Condition of Readiness 4 was declared at noon on Thursday. As the school day came to a close on Friday, she said she was happy with the progress. A tree fell on a fence near the football field, she said, and some classrooms were flooded, but she said she was ready to welcome back students once given the go-ahead.
The school’s main generator, she said, suffered severe damage. On the plus side, she said that only a handful of solar panels were lost to the wind — a different story from the many more lost to Typhoon Mawar.
