Area Rep Presses for Fix to Sarteneja School Crisis

Tonight, the focus shifts to accountability. After we exposed the four‑year struggle of Sarteneja Baptist High School operating without a permanent home, the Area Representative for Corozal Southeast is responding. Florencio Marin Jr. says he’s been working closely with the school, pushing for a permanent building and staying in constant contact with administrators. He also points to the wider picture, three high schools already serve the rural division, and free government‑supported education is available at St. Viator High School just minutes away. But the big question remains: what help is coming now for the students still learning in borrowed spaces? Marin told us by phone today what’s being done—and what comes next for Sarteneja Baptist High School.

 

On The Phone: Florencio Marin Jr, Area Representative, Corozal Southeast

“I want to say that Corozal Southeastfor a rural division has three high schools spread across it. One in Calcutta, one Chunox and one in Sartaneja. So we have adequate coverage of education in our area. With the Sarteneja Baptist High School we have a very close working relationship in that we’ve always been helping them. Some years back they had a, they had some bills they had to pay. We helped them pay off their bills. We’re always donating computers. They had a shortage of teachers and we helped them get another teacher and now they need another one. And we’re working with education for that. And then where they were renting the landlord had asked them to leave, so that’s why the Village Council is supporting them to use the place. They do have a land and that we are working with the government to see when they can fit it within the cycle to be able to build them a school. We also have others who are interested in helping, but nothing finalized as yet. So in the meantime, we, you know, with the generosity of the village council, they’re utilizing the community center and some other buildings near it to, to do their work. Thanks to this government, we have free education in Saint Viator. So we, you know, the whole Corozal Southeast here we have free education there. I mean, so there, there is, you know, for those who can’t, who can’t pay the, the tuition or, so they, they have that opportunity because from the surrounding villages there are buses that take them to the school.”

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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