Repairs at SPHS continue; regular class schedule to return in January 2024

While the school year 2023 ends at the San Pedro High School (SPHS), much-needed repairs continue in parts of its main building. Over the past months, emergency repairs have occurred in its staff room, conference room, computer laboratory, and sports room. On Wednesday, December 20th, the school management shared that work has been completed in its Information Technology (IT) laboratory and sports room, while work continues in the other sections mentioned. According to SPHS management, if the reconstruction works continue uninterrupted, class schedules at the school are expected to return to normalcy when classes resume on January 8, 2024.
The renovations at SPHS forced the school to install a shift system offering classes in the morning for junior students and the afternoon for senior students. This was necessary as many classrooms were near the areas needing repairs, leading to limited space to accommodate all students simultaneously. Principal Emil Vasquez stated they are now preparing these classrooms for the students. “We are removing the computers from the temporary IT lab to the original lab. “We are also preparing 20 classrooms to house the students again upon their return to classes,” said Vasquez. “We are awaiting the completion of the staff room and conference room; the contractors have stated that the repairs in these areas could be completed by the first week in January.” As such, Vasquez expects classes and staff schedules to return to normalcy. He expressed that the shifting system has taken a toll on some students and staff as they must stay in the school longer hours in the evening.
Principal Vasquez thanked all the support the community high school has received. He said that while repairs at the staff room, conference room, IT laboratory, and sports room have successfully advanced, the school still needs more resources to finish the reconstruction of the Science laboratory. This is another crucial area of the high school that was deemed unsafe by the structural engineers when they were evaluating the building.
To meet the costs of the repairs, SPHS has received generous assistance from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology and donors from San Pedro and other parts of the country and the world. The estimates for the renovations were quoted at BZ$350,000. The school raised over BZ$200,000 via a telethon on October 27th. Some of the big contributors included Caye International Bank, which created a GoFundMe page on behalf of the school.
The damage to the school’s infrastructure was discovered on August 1st when Principal Vasquez found out that the staff room ceiling had collapsed. As a result, several rounds of evaluation started, ending with a report from structural engineers suggesting that even though the building was not unsafe, these crucial areas needed repairs immediately: staff and conference room, IT laboratory, sports room, and science laboratory.
For those still wishing to donate to this worthy cause, they can either contact SPHS via telephone at +501-226-2045, visit their offices on Seagull Street in Boca del Rio, or make direct contributions through the GoFundMe link at https://shorturl.at/cksNV.