Ground works are well and truely underway now at the site of the new George Town Primary School as the photos in this blog entry reveal. It may be a sea of mud right now but the very positive signs of progress actually happening will excite students staff and the community alike.The stunning designs for this school will result in the new school environment really embracing modern day thinking for education and allow students to develop as exciting 21st century learners. GTPS is already starting to work this way - the new facilities will really enhance the opportunities that they have for their students and the local community.
The historic 'Rock Hole' will be a key feature of the school site - is this water filled hole it... views are mixed right now! It is causing an interesting debate with the community which is very interested in the forthcoming development. (GL)
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Two new schools shelved
By Norma Connolly, norma@cfp.ky
Thursday 11th December, 2008 Posted: 16:26 CIT (21:26 GMT)
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The government has shelved construction of two schools as part of its belt–tightening efforts.
Work on the Beulah Smith High School in West Bay and the George Town Primary School has been put on hold.
Other projects that have also been delayed are the expansion to four lanes of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, the Bodden Town Emergency Response Centre, and the seawall at the Savannah Gully.
Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts said projects that were already under way or for which contracts had been signed would continue.
These included the new Government Administration Building, Clifton Hunter High School in Frank Sound, the new John Gray High School, the annex to George Town Public Library and the boxing gym, as well as road works.
The news was announced in the annual Strategic Policy Statement on Wednesday.
Mr. Tibbetts said the government was also undertaking other cost–saving measures including a temporary freeze on hiring in the public sector and a mandated 6 per cent reduction in operational expenditures. The government will not begin work on any new capital projects in the coming year.
Mr. Tibbetts said damage caused to Cayman Brac and Little Cayman had also impacted on government spending.
“Given the tight constraints under which Government is operating to cushion the impact of the global slowdown, Hurricane Paloma’s unwelcome visit has only served to compound the situation. It has introduced pressing needs which must be addressed but which were not anticipated or planned for. These needs will not be ignored,” he said.
Referring to the postponement of work on the two schools, Mr. Tibbetts said: “Overall, while significant physical constraints will be imposed on our existing facilities as a result of the delays in construction of Beulah Smith and George Town Primary, the Department of Education is working to ensure it is able to delivery the critical components of the new secondary curriculum to all high school students.
“It is expected that we will be able to complete Beulah Smith and George Town Primary in the medium term.”
Work done
Clearance work on Beulah Smith has already been undertaken, and the school had been due to open in 2010. McAlpine was awarded the $49,799,800 contract in August to construct the high school.
Work on redeveloping John Gray High School and constructing the new Clifton Hunter High School in Frank Sound are both under way by Tom Jones International.
Mr. Tibbetts defended the government’s decision to press ahead with major capital works projects in the light of the worsening economy, insisting that they benefited the country in the medium– to long–term. He said they also had short–term benefit of generating spin–off business for hardware stores and other suppliers and that construction workers employed on the projects spent their earnings on supermarkets, bars, restaurants and other businesses.
“Ultimately, these projects are also contributing to economic growth as they will be captured in the calculation of our Gross Domestic Product.
“Altogether they have had a positive impact in supporting growth of the economy this year. The fact that our economy is continuing to grow is made even more remarkable in the context of the recent revelation that the US economy has been in recession for the past year.”
Mr. Tibbetts stated that in the 2009–2010 fiscal year, it was forecast that the country would have a surplus of $28.2 million, up from the $20.1 million projected for the current fiscal year.
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