GRAPPLING with inadequate space, the May Pen campus of the Windsor School of Special Education urgently needs financial assistance to begin the second phase of construction for its new facility on Chapelton Road in May Pen, Clarendon.

“We are severely challenged financially to complete the critical second phase. So we are making an appeal to Jamaicans to help us complete the facility so we can better serve the needs of our intellectually and physically disabled students in Clarendon,” appealed vice-principal Claire Jackson-Davis, who oversees the May Pen campus.

The special needs school, which is owned by the Jamaican Association on Intellectual Disabilities (JAID) and jointly operated with the Ministry of Education, had the first phase of the project completed last year. That venture was funded by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund at a cost of approximately $30 million following an application from JAID’s former executive director, Grace Duncan, in 2005. A $3-million allocation from the Ministry of Education, plus a US$25,000 donation from Alcoa, also aided the overall project. The first phase comprises three classrooms, along with the administrative and sanitation areas.

Duncan’s successor, Christine Rodriguez, disclosed that the second phase, which will include four classrooms, paving, fencing and a sick bay, should consume roughly another $30 million.

“Mr Mike Henry, the member of parliament, is helping us with the bushing of the land and seeking goodwill from the community to identify the funding in cash or kind to complete this phase. We had a little money that was for other purposes, but it’s not enough to complete the process. So we have about a third of the funding that is needed and wherever that stops, that’s where we will have to stop,” she said.

Jackson-Davis emphasised that the space limitation seriously hampers the school’s ability to enrol more students. “The problem we have is the inability of the building to facilitate classrooms because what we have are spaces separated by chalkboards for the most part,” she explained.

Consequently, the May Pen campus is forced to place applicants on a waiting list or refer them to the special education unit at Hazard Primary School. Jackson-Davis said that unit, which caters to six to 12-year-olds, is sometimes also hard-pressed to accommodate those referrals.

Windsor’s May Pen campus’ immediate waiting list, she said, has 20 students since 2014. However, the general waiting list preceding that period has about 70 students who lag behind if their parents do not find alternative school arrangements. Amplifying the problem, too, is that after finishing their programme at the Hazard unit, students are referred to the May Pen campus but the school is often unable to accept them.

Some parents’ mounting frustration turns to anger.

“Some parents express anger at the school because they feel they’re being slighted. They go straight to the ministry because they don’t accept that we have a limitation. But we still encourage them to call us to see if any space becomes available,” Jackson-Davis continued.

She stressed that the recent admission of Anthony McPherson, the second wheelchair-bound student, further highlights the need for a more spacious environment as the manoeuvring of wheelchairs poses a challenge.

“Because of the small passageway, the chalkboards separating three classrooms must be shifted each time Anthony has to move from his class to the bathroom or any outside activity,” she said.

Rodriguez revealed that the new school facility is intended to facilitate the 13-to 20-year-olds, while the

six-to-12 years old are to be taught at a modified May Pen unit. She expressed that there is an overwhelming need to finish the construction of the entire facility in time for the new school year in September.

To raise funds to accelerate the completion of the facility, the May Pen campus is hosting a mini luncheon on Wednesday, with meal tickets priced at $300. A concert is also slated for May 22, which will include an artiste yet to be named. The old police station or the area beside the Tiger Market will be the venue, and the school hopes to generate broad public support.

The Windsor May Pen campus is one of four campuses of the Windsor School of Special Education. The campus currently has 72 students and six teachers, along with a skills-training instructor. Linstead, Greater Portmore and Spanish Town each has one of three remaining campuses.