Commissioner Dionne Wells-Hedrington of the Virgin Islands Department of Education (VIDE) is appealing to the public regarding a string of recent acts of vandalism and theft that have impacted ongoing projects of the VIDE. “Over the past few days there have been several incidents of crime reported that can only be described as senseless, brazen, and unfortunate. I am asking for the support of the community in identifying persons involved in these acts who have demonstrated such a disregard for ongoing efforts to prepare schools for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year,” said Commissioner Wells-Hedrington. 

Air conditioning units stored at the Department of Education’s procurement warehouse on St. Thomas were destroyed for the copper coil cores within the units. At the Charlotte Amalie High School demolition site on St. Thomas, windows and other construction equipment stored on site were stolen. Funding and procurement of these items were an integral part of the Department of Education’s efforts to equip schools with needed resources for school preparations. On St. Croix, vandals stole 107 solar panels stored at the Educational Complex High School. The solar panels were procured as an energy-efficient project of the Virgin Islands Energy Office. 

These equipment and resources designated for schools in the St. Thomas/St. John District and St. Croix District have been damaged and stolen with just a month away from the start of the new school year. “These acts gravely impact the students of the territory by taking away needed resources for classrooms and campuses. We must think of the students, our children, who are our future, before engaging in such behavior,” said Commissioner Wells-Hedrington.

As the Department of Education actively prepares for the upcoming school year, the support of the community is needed as investigations are underway to arrest the perpetrators involved. “The return of these needed items for our schools is a priority. These resources are to improve our infrastructure to create comfortable and conducive environments for learning. The public is asked to keep a watchful eye out for any suspicious activity in and around school campuses and to call 911 to report any information related to these crimes,” said Commissioner Wells-Hedrington. 

###

Download press release here:  pdf Press Release 0701 23 VIDE Response to Recent Acts of Crime (177 KB)

ST. THOMAS, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS – The Virgin Islands Department of Education requests permission to use FEMA funds to redesign and reconstruct Charlotte Amalie High School (CAHS) and to renovate and modernize Bertha C. Boschulte School (BCB). The project plans are available for review, and a hearing for public comment will be held on June 22, 2023 at 4:00 pm.

The CAHS project calls for the complete construction of a new school campus, including classrooms, administrative offices, a library, a cafeteria, a kitchen, bathrooms, stairways, balconies, hallways, and all fixtures, equipment, and contents. The project site is located at 8 & 9 Alton Adams Sr. Drive, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

The BCB project scope includes items necessary to transition BCB into a PreK-8th grade campus. These items include the modernization of existing classrooms, new PreK-5th classrooms, administrative offices, library, cafeteria, kitchen, bathrooms, stairways, balconies, theater, hallways, and all fixtures, equipment, and contents. The project site is located at 9-1 and 12A Bovoni Road, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

All persons interested, either in favor of or opposed to the granting of this permit, are invited to be present and be heard at the scheduled Public Hearing on the proposed project, which begins on Thursday, June 22, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. This meeting will be held via the video conferencing platform Zoom.

Properly signed statements concerning the proposed project, addressed to the undersigned, will become part of the hearing record. Written statements must be submitted by June 29, 2023, via email to czm@dpnr.vi.gov. NOTE: A Decision Meeting will be held in about 30 days after the Public Hearing. Please monitor the DPNR Public Notice Webpage for details.

The Project Details are available for public review here:

VI Department of Education – CAHS Reconstruction (CZT-12-22(FC))

• CAHS New Build - FCD LETTER

  

• CAHS CZM-FCD Package - New Build   

  

VI Department of Education – BCB Reconstruction (CZT-01-23(FC)) 

• BCB FCD Transmittal

  

• BCB FCD - Rebuild

The documents for the proposed project are also on file for review by appointment only at the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Division of CZM, 4611 Tutu Park Mall Suite #300, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (340) 774-3320, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., except holidays.

The following information should be used to participate in the meeting:
URL: https://zoom.us/join
Meeting ID: 856 6116 2718
Passcode: 702724