Hundreds of teachers and parents crowded the Warwick Workmen’s Club last night to voice concerns about the plan to address issues at TN Tatem.

While the Government has announced that students would be bused to Clearwater Middle School in St David’s while work is carried out at the Warwick school, parents voiced concern about the impact the move would have on their children’s education.

The crowd were told that teachers from TN Tatem would travel to Clearwater today to discuss details as to what will happen in the individual classrooms in advance of the students attending the St David’s school tomorrow.

While a representative for the Department of Education told parents that the situation was not ideal, it was deemed the best option in a bad situation.

And Shannon James, president of the Bermuda Union of Teachers, said that teachers from both schools would make sure that their students are not left behind in the classroom.

“When it comes to teaching, I have been at it for 20 years,” he said. “We know how to speed up and slow down if needed. Your children will be ready for exams.”

He added that there will be twice as many teachers in the classroom with teachers from both schools working together, meaning that the teachers could potentially work together to both assist those who are facing challenges while helping those succeeding to excel.

Parents also asked what would happen if the buses were to go on strike on Friday. The representative for the Department of Education responded that such industrial action would affect schools across the island with or without the temporary merger.

Lovitta Foggo, the Shadow Minister of Education, however expressed concerns about the physical limitations of Clearwater, saying the school was not designed to handle this many students, stating that she had received concerned calls from parents at both schools.

Parents also expressed concerns about how long the temporary merger would last. They were told that remediation would take at least three weeks, after which air quality would have to be tested, leaving the school closed for at least four weeks.

However if more work was required, the crowd were told the school would remain closed until it was complete.

Earlier in the day, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Education released a prospective plan for the cleanup operation, saying that the Government would use the time to address issues raised both by staff and by a report from the Government Safety and Health Coordinator.

A spokeswoman said: “This week the Department of Parks will be cleaning the school’s inside courtyard and outside areas around the school building, while the Department of Works will be addressing air conditioning and classroom ceiling issues.

“It is expected that the deep cleaning of critical areas throughout the school will commence next week Monday and will continue for the full week.

“Mould and indoor air quality testing of the entire school building will occur after the deep cleaning process and should take roughly three days. The results of the mould and air quality tests will then determine if there is a need for any mould remediation.

“It is anticipated that the results of the air samples and surface samples, which have to be sent overseas for evaluation, will be available by the latter half of the week of December 29, but this could extend into the first week of January due to the holiday season.”

The spokeswoman said a similar inspection would take place at all other middle schools on a schedule to be finalised with the Office of the Safety and Health Co-ordinator. TN Tatem teachers reported to school yesterday to work on logistics with the school administration, and are set to report to Clearwater Middle School today for orientation into the school building.

“Students are scheduled to begin classes at Clearwater Middle School on Thursday,” the spokeswoman continued.

“Buses will be provided by the Department of Education to transport students to and from Clearwater Middle School each day. A detailed bus schedule will be provided tomorrow.”