kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
“Let her bring her audit.”
It is how the Pastor Glenroy Frank responded to Wednesday’s announcement that the Division of Education, Research and Technology will audit the three denominational secondary schools in Tobago.
Speaking to Guardian Media yesterday, Frank said he hopes that Division Secretary, Zorisha Hackett, will publish the audit report when completed. He was sure that auditors would not find any financial mismanagement.
“The time will come when she will have to give an account of her behaviour.”
As a pastor for 41 years, Frank said it’s mindboggling to suggest that he was stealing money. He said the $600,000 plus funding the schools received from the Tobago House of Assembly each term was the same as Bishop’s High School and Queen’s Royal College.
He explained that in 2021, the Division did not allocate the yearly $1.9 million to the school. Without funding to pay cleaners and other staff, they closed the school. The church borrowed money to fulfil payments, understanding that although governments were sometimes late, it eventually paid. He called Division to inquire about the money and learned the Division was reviewing the payment system.
Frank said the government’s rate for students at denominational schools was the same for 20 years. He said schools got $86 per term for each Form One and two students. It raised to $114 and $140 per student.
He said the Division found a document that suggested a child should get $28.66.
He addressed this matter with former Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis and Secretary of Finance Joel Jack and resolved this matter as this was a rate contained in a Cabinet Note. This review caused a delay in payment.
“When schools opened last week, there were some promises made. Remember, these plants were down for the past two years...AC units, lighting fixtures. There were 250 or so lighting fixtures that needed to be changed, which I know the administrator and the Division committed that they would do the 35 air conditioning units that they would service and change before school opened. When schools opened, nothing that they had promised they were able to do.”
Consequently, teachers left school, complaining the rooms were too hot and the partitions removed to provide adequate distancing compromised the size of the classes.
Frank said the principal reported to the Division that 23 of the 27 teachers left, leaving students unsupervised. The Division informed the principal to continue school as usual.
Frank said he contacted students’ parents, informing them that the school would be closed until further notice. He asked them not to send their children to school as there were no teachers.
While the Division’s Assistant Secretary Orlando Kerr contends that the school board had no authority to close the school, Frank said he decided to keep children safe.
Once dubbed the most violent school in Tobago, Frank reported that there were three fights the day teachers walked out. He also recalled that the last major fight entailed a father going into the school and throwing a student off one of the buildings. He said Hackett revealed how much money the school got when finances had nothing to do with why he closed the school.
Frank said the Division allocates $25,000 for ground maintenance. The property which houses the school buildings, recreational ground, agricultural lots and trimmings is 11.5 acreage. It costs the Foundation $70,000 a year to maintain the grounds.
Hackett called the school board to a meeting, and Frank said he would attend.
