Leaking Roofs, No Nurse, No Cafeteria, No Playground, Rodent Issues and More: Claude O. Markoe Staff Protest Working Conditions

Faculty and staff of the Claude O. Markoe Elementary School on St. Croix sang uplifting songs, held up banners listing several issues at the school, and did so for hours Tuesday morning while vehicles honked their horns in a show of support. Tuesday's action was a culmination of several weeks of complaints by staff of the beleaguered school which culminated with a back-and-forth between the Dept. of Education and popular St. Croix social media page West Gyul, which had shot a video on March 4 showing all sorts of equipment littering the school's cafeteria.  Yesterday, well over two dozen staff members gathered outside the school near a shanty on the roadside to voice their complaints. One protester held up a sign showing a long list of areas that need attention: "cafeteria, kitchen, nurse, gym, playground, more personnel, AC units, leaking roofs, new desks and chairs, drinking water." The school does not have a nurse, nor does it have drinking water, said Rosa Soto-Thomas, the St....