Residents Upset Over Government Plans to Relocate Graydon Sealy Secondary School in St Michael

Some residents of Paddock Road, St Michael, and surrounding areas have expressed anger and frustration over Government plans to relocate Graydon Sealy Secondary School to the site of the old Ursuline Convent School.

The announcement was made during Monday’s Budget presentation by Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn and reportedly came without prior public consultation.

In yesterday’s wrap-up, Straughn said the Paddock Road compound would become the site of a “full training facility for the vocational training board”.

He referred to comments by Minister of Training and Tertiary Education Sandra Husbands earlier, who said that the Barbados Community College, Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology and the Technical and Vocational centres turned away 2 000 people annually, unable to accommodate them.

“This is nothing to do with any politics or the naming of an institution or anything. It’s about how do we redeploy the assets that we have, Sir, to make sure that we can serve the interests of Bajans,” Straughn said.

However, the decision sparked outrage among residents, who did not want to be photographed, and who questioned both the reasoning behind the decision and the lack of transparency in the process.

“I feel mad. I feel real mad,” said resident Verla Knight.

“Why they want to move it? That school ain’t do nobody nothing. They’re not even giving you no reason why.”

Knight said the current location was “very convenient” for children from surrounding communities, including Brittons Hill, Rockley, and St Matthias, who can easily walk to school. She expressed concern that relocating to the Ursuline Convent would force students to pay bus fare, creating an additional financial burden for families.

Traffic congestion was another significant concern raised by Knight, who noted that placing a school in an area “that does already got a congo line of traffic” would only worsen the situation.

Troy Durant, whose son attends Graydon Sealy, learned of the relocation only when he came home from school with the news.

Concerns have been expressed about whether the Ursuline Convent has sufficient space for all the students of Graydon Sealy Secondary School. This is a picture showing the back of the Ursuline Convent, which is located at Collymore Rock, St Michael. (Picture by Jameel Springer.)

“They ain’t say nothing. They didn’t give any warning or any notice that this was the plan,” Durant said. “Everybody should have a say or at the least let the people know what’s going on.”

Durant also questioned the financial wisdom of building new structures.

“There are a lot of old structures that are not being properly or fully utilised as they should. Then they’re taking the taxpayers’ money to build whole new structures before they could just refurbish the current building.”

Steven Stanton, who attended the school from 1974 to 1976 and fondly recalled victories in basketball tournaments, described the move as “stupidity”.

“I had a good education there. I didn’t have to catch the bus or anything to get to school.

A ten-minute walk and I was already at school,” Stanton said.

“The move is going to be a real problem for people who live out in these areas. It’s going to be harder for them to get to school.”

While Stanton acknowledged that the stench from nearby stables might be one reason for the relocation, he dismissed this as insufficient justification, noting, “that smell has been there for eons”. He called on the Government to explain “exactly why the move is happening and exactly what will be built there once the school has been moved”.

“The Government cannot continue doing what they like without informing us, the people. We are the people who voted you in, they are accountable to us,” Stanton added.

Sherline Bannister described the relocation as “foolishness” and expressed concerns about whether the Ursuline Convent had sufficient space for all the students, though she acknowledged there was substantial land that could potentially be developed. (DDS)