“You cannot get any clearer than this! The 1st phase of the Redevelopment of the Elmore Stoutt High School Campus since the destruction of many buildings by Irma in 2017 has been completed ahead of schedule. All the old foundations were demolished and removed,” he said via a social media post on Friday, January 7.

He continued: “The contractor, Sand Wise Ltd. did an outstanding job. The Minister of Education & 7th District Representative, Dr. The Hon. Natalio Wheatley has surveyed the now cleared property and is pleased. Now on to phase two as it is soon time for the construction of the new buildings. To God alone be all the GLORY!!! We're in this together. Our students & teachers of ESHS are coming back home in 2022.”

On December 2, 2021, the Government of the Virgin Islands signed two contracts, one with Trojan Design & Development Limited for design consultancy services valued at $99,480, and the second contract was inked with Sand Wise Limited for the demolition and debris works clearance valued at $136,079.50.

During his remarks at the contract signing ceremony, Premier Fahie said the first phase of the project will run from 10th December 2021 to 7th January 2022 and involves demolition of the concrete slabs and the remnants of the old buildings, and the removal of debris from the facility to an approved landfill site in an environmentally friendly manner, with due safety to protect all individuals inside and outside of the site.

Simultaneously, he stated the design and consultancy phase will begin on the 2nd December 2021 and must be completed by 14th January 2022.

He had explained that the “approach that has been settled upon is for the construction of three, two-storey buildings at least for now on the eastern side of the ESHS campus that will be utilized in the longer term beyond the repatriation of the senior students in an acceptable classroom environment for maintenance, science and technical schools respectively.”

He continued: “The buildings will be incorporated into the permanent master plan for the ESHS campus. The project will use traditional style methods which utilize existing know-how in the Virgin Islands to the fullest extent.”

Upon completion of the design phase, he said the tendering phase will be next and “there will be no delay.”

“We must, and I repeat we must get our students, the principal, the teachers, the support staff back home here on this ESHS campus by the start of the 2022/2023 school year. No ifs, no buts, no maybes, no excuses.”

He reminded residents that this government has already allocated just over $7 million for this initiative in the 2022 budget.

Notably, with the redevelopment of the school, the senior students now being housed at the Old CTL Building in Pasea Estate will return to the Road Town-based institution.