Ivan Dawson Primary School
A row erupted at the Ivan Dawson Primary School in Cane Garden Bay after Second District Representative Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull accused Education Minister Sharie deCastro of manipulation and posturing over the installation of a donated playground.
Turnbull made the remarks on site after officers of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force were called to the school compound, where a container holding the new playground equipment was offloaded, and instructions were issued to remove it.
He said the playground was sourced to replace an ageing and unsafe structure that had remained on the school grounds since the 2017 hurricanes.
“We announced on July 5 at the graduation that I was going to seek donations to get the playground for the Ivan Dawson Primary School because there has been a dilapidated ‘boat’, that was donated by the Convoy of Hope, since the 2017 hurricanes,” Turnbull said. “That playground now has caused a number of injuries because time has elapsed,” he stated.
Turnbull said the donation was secured through ATU BVI and that he wrote formally to the Ministry of Education seeking collaboration under its donation policy. He said the playground remained at the ports from early January, accumulating storage fees, before being transported to the school.
“This playground has been on the ports of the BVI since around the 9th of January and absorbing port fees,” he said. “We worked now to get the container cleared. The playground was offloaded yesterday on the school campus and now we are here today with instructions to remove the playground from the campus,” Turnbull stated.
He accused the ministry of acting without compromise and said repeated efforts to engage were ignored.
“I wrote this letter to them around the 19th. There was no response,” he said. “I followed up with calls and WhatsApp. No response. And then today my phone is bombarded with calls from the ministry,” Turnbull stated.
Turnbull rejected claims that safety concerns justified removal, pointing instead to the existing structure.
“That ‘boat’ that is there is not safe,” he said. “As recent as Monday, I got reports that a student fell off that boat and got injured,” Turnbull stated.
He said the community was prepared to fund the removal of the old playground, while the donor would cover the cost of constructing the new one.
“The donor is willing to pay for the construction and erection of the new playground because they want to benefit the school and this community,” he said.
Turnbull accused the minister of exerting control rather than seeking a resolution. “It’s not about policies, it is about them and the minister trying to be bull-headed and manipulate persons to do what she wants because she wants to be the boss,” he said.
“I would rather partner with my honourable colleague, who’s my cousin, as an At-large rep than turn the community of Cane Garden Bay against her,” Turnbull added. He said police later warned him that his vehicle would be removed if he did not comply with instructions, but insisted he would continue to stand with the community.
“I am going to continue to stand on principle,” Turnbull said. “This is for the benefit of the students of the Cane Garden Bay community,” he added.
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