Eight-year wait for school

Eight-year wait for Midfield school

Michael Duffy

THE Principal of St Joseph’s National School in Midfield has admitted this week that he is ‘disillusioned’ with the failure of the Department of Education to sanction the renovation and extension of the 75-pupil school in east Mayo.
Despite having the required works sanctioned in 1999, no work has yet been carried out and school principal, Tony Fahy, has said that staff and parents of children attending the school are at ‘the end of their tether’.
“I’m disillusioned by the entire process. Money was sanctioned for the school eight years ago and we were led to believe that it was a matter of ‘when’ the work would start, not ‘if’. It’s not as if the situation is not urgent. We have 75 pupils in three classrooms that were built in 1964. They are all below standard size and the toilet facilities in the school are disgraceful and hardly a day goes by without sewerage problems. There is no proper office, no storage area, no physical education area and no general-purpose room or staff room,’’ said Mr Fahy.
Two architects’ reports have been commissioned by the Board of Management and these clearly state that the condition of the school constitutes a major health and safety issue and that if the school was a business it would be closed down on health and safety grounds.
John O’Mahony, Fine Gael candidate in the forthcoming General Election, visited the school last Friday and said he was ‘appalled’ by what he witnessed.
“Teachers should not be expected to teach in such conditions and children should not have to attend school there. It just doesn’t make sense that a school that was sanctioned for renovation eight years ago is still waiting for the work to be carried out. It’s very frustrating for the teachers, the students and the parents and I believe that the least they’re entitled to is an explanation as to why the work has not been carried out,’’ said Mr O’Mahony.
A meeting of staff, parents and the Board of Management was due to take place on Monday night last.