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When we had that problem at GES,some five odd years ago, we followed a protocol. Notices on the buildings of the school, put sanitizers in the bathroom and reminded kids not to wash their faces (water could get in their mouths), assured stakeholders that we had potable drinking water in each classroom and filled our tanks after cleaning them with water from the Mayor's office. There was no need to shut the schools down, to postpone an already late start and most of all to hamper effective and efficient operations. Each school has it's emergency operations (SOP). It was rumored that the governor's lawyers were at schools forcefully encouraging principals to shut down. They never made it here. Let's all pray that worse things are not coming our way.

Looks like they found your button.

I'd say closing schools at the unnecessary expense of our children might be one of my buttons.

Boni, your voice of experience helps put the Governor's action's in perspective. He's even more out-of-line than I realized.

The Bush parallels are so clear. Fitial is a man who is so clearly incompetent, wildly unpopular and elected by only the slimmest of margins, yet the oversight board aka Congress just bows to this jackass.

It's time to broaden Tina's Sept 17th demonstration against CUC/The Gov to include a protest against all of the other ludicrous things he and his cronies have done. Everyone who has had their button (nice insight Jello) pushed should join in...

The Lawyers didn't make it to two schools, just late night fax from the govenor office to BOE chairwomen, then phone calls to Ms Sablan, and then to principals. The rest of us peons, the ones really affected, didn't find out until 45 minutes before school started, by radio or upon arriving at school were told if we stayed it would be voluntary, not paid. Talk about acting professional!! Where did he learn to be Govenor?

Boni is a good school administrator. She and her staff are able to get her school ready for opening day.

What bothers me is that administrators for MHS, the other schools and Headstart (read Malua Peters) did not see the need to ensure that the water is free of bacteria before opening day.

I'm not sure that is entirely accurate. DEQ tests our water regularly. If there was a need to act, it would have been given before school started, as I know was the case at my school. We drained our tanks before the opening and re-filled with city water. MHS, Head Start, like the rest of us were given the same directions I assume. Regardless, there was no need to shut down. I certainly don't know much about water quality i.e. testing the water and assessing whatever levels of harmful bacteria may be in it, but I know that when DEQ says to clean up we do it. School principals are not environmental engineers.

Karen Borja at MHS is also doing a very fine job as administrator.

There's no indication that any of the schools failed to properly and promptly respond to the water tests.

The problem seems to be that DEQ didn't get back out to the schools to test again in time to have results before school opened. It's all about lead-time.

And I believe that the Governor used this merely as an excuse to close the schools--givving no due process and having no real / actual need to be concerned for the kids safety, just wanting schools off the power grid.

jmho.

You're too kind Jane.. you don't name names. Kagman High has had Doreen Tudela, who it sounds was preoccupied with filling her personal tills. Now they have Alfred Ada.. in my opinion, very weak. SSHS has had Peter Leau. Now on his own private time.. Mr. Leau is about the crudest rudest individual you could meet. When I knew him he was a hard drinker, who'd moon you at a wink. At school though, he brings typical Samoan strictness and expectations of respect by the students. This makes all of the difference in the world. That toughness carries on to his approach with the PSS Central.. Mr. Leau doesn't ask for supplies and equipment, he demands it, and he usually helps find a way to make it happen.

In the cases of principals.. their performance isn't related to their salaries. You should see how much they make.. not publicized, but it's very substantial. There's no excuse for the underperformance that been displayed at Kagman and some of our elementary schools. There's a reason everyone tries to sneak their kids into San Vicente or Garapan Elementary Schools, and avoids like the plague Oleai and WSR.

Consequently.. Mr. Ada was the principal of WSR for some time as well.

I am tired of the nonperformance of the maintenece men too. Everytime I leave my classroom,I see them sitting on a bench somewhere in school. I am not the only one who has told the principal, yet nothing has been done.

They expect us to pay them extra to buff the floors, where at other schools they do it as a part of their summer clean up.

I was in school this week and needed the restroom but the office was locked because the power was out. I went to the one school restroom that was open and it had not been cleaned in months. MONTHS. The smell of urine was overwhelming. IT HAS BEEN ALL SUMMER AND THEY STILL HAVENT CLEANED IT. What have they been doing all this time? There are many people without work who would do a much better job than these guys. There is a joke at school that the maintence wokers are only there to keep the walls from falling as they are always leaning against them.

Durring the school year more restrooms are locked than opened. We are violating laws and student rights. SOMETHING HAS TO HAPPEN.