BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth — Black River High Principal Christopher Romans was just 10 minutes into an interview and tour of his damaged institution when a black cow boldly stopped at a classroom door on a corridor here last Thursday.

The cow hurriedly retreated when the Jamaica Observer moved closer to film the animal, which is one of several stray cattle now roaming and creating havoc at the institution following the flattening of a perimeter fence during the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28.

“The fencing is compromised. And not just that, it means that cattle or goats can come across and urinate on the corridors, and that creates a health concern for us. We hope, in whatever plan there is, that our perimeter fence will be treated with the same level of urgency as the building infrastructure,” Romans said.

“There are other points of entry on the campus — both from Piccadilly side and Flat Rock — that animals can still move in and out [from]. It becomes so much more difficult for the watchman at night because people can be entering from all angles to get on the campus,” he added.

Romans said the animals were not the only ones creating problems in the aftermath of the storm as thieves targeted the school.

“Added to the damage, several places were vandalised. The office of some of our senior staff, the dean’s office and our electrical lab, we lost quite a bit of tools from there so it adds to the hurt. We can deal with the storm and the damage but the hurt is when members of the community come to inflict unnecessary damage on school property,” he explained.

Romans told the Observer that the school sustained extensive damage to its metal roofing while the only-recently-built decked areas were spared from Hurricane Melissa’s wrath.

The school’s auditorium suffered damage, with “three- quarters” of the roof being ripped off.

“Our auditorium is a very essential part of our school operation — it houses three classrooms and it is our major exam centre. On a day when we have large exams we could host at least 400 or more persons, so it is an essential part of our school administration,” said Romans.

“All the areas that had metal sheeting covering… were damaged. The roof at the teachers’ cottage has been totally demolished. The security post, the bus shed for students. Ninety per cent of the perimeter fence around the campus is down. Two classrooms are not operable now, plus some offices which are adjacent to those classrooms,” he said while adding that the roof of the school’s dorm was damaged, impacting the sports programme there.

The school’s three poultry houses were also flattened during the storm’s onslaught.

“… That will impact our agriculture programme to a large extent,” said Romans.

Teachers and students are also still picking up the pieces, although classes have resumed, with priority being placed on those preparing for external exams.

“We have over 31 members of staff who lost their roof in entirety. All members of staff were impacted… In spite of the damage [to their homes] they are still out giving service to our students and preparing them for exams, and also engaging our lower-school students who are in on a rotational basis. A significant number of our students live in the brunt of the damaged areas from Westmoreland up to Holland [St Elizabeth] and the neighbouring communities,” said Romans.

He said the school has prioritised face-to-face learning but is also helping students cope by being together.

“We know when you are with friends you are able to recover and relate much better,” said Romans who added that the school has seen a significant turnout of its students who number 1,500 pupils in its population.

“We are seeing close to 70 per cent of the students. And those who we have not seen, efforts are being made to contact them so that we can account for them,” he said.

Support has also come from schools as far away as St Thomas in the east.

“The recovery has begun. We have gotten significant help from other schools — St Jago High, Bridgeport High, Yallahs High visited our campus. We have received commitment from Camperdown High. We have received support from neighbouring schools in terms of printing material because we are without power supply,” said Romans.

The school leader is now awaiting confirmation from the Ministry of Education as to when rebuilding will be intensified.

“Restoration continues, and we hope to build back stronger and be more resilient. [National Education Trust] has visited our campus more than once to begin their scope of work, and we are in dialogue with them. We hope to hear from them, in short order, what will be the timeline for our reconstruction and repairs — whenever those have been approved,” he said.

Meanwhile, the school is calling on its past students to pool assistance for its rebuilding.

“We want to make an appeal to our Black River High School past students. We know that we have many successful past students… We implore them to come together to support the rebuilding of our institution so that we, in the future, can continue to mould more lives and be the great institution that we are,” Romans said.

Black River High Principal Christopher Romans stands beneath the school’s damaged auditorium roof. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)

Black River High Principal Christopher Romans points to a collapsed wall adjacent to the school’s netball court. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)

Black River High Principal Christopher Romans points to the school’s damaged auditorium roof. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)