The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

EDUCATION Director Dominique McCartney-Russell said Lowe Sound Primary School is nearing completion, although officials are still unable to provide a firm opening date for the long-delayed campus.

Speaking with reporters at Loyola Hall on Tuesday, Mrs McCartney-Russell said she recently received updates indicating the school is “almost completed.”

However, she cautioned that inspections and occupancy approvals are still required before a final opening date can be confirmed.

“I did get an update recently that showed that it is almost completed, and I’m excited for that completion,” Mrs McCartney-Russell said. “We really need that school.”

Still, she said there is no confirmed timeline for when construction will be fully completed.

She explained that technical crews from the Ministry of Works must still assess when the school can be made operational.

While expressing hope that the school could open before the next academic year, Mrs McCartney-Russell stopped short of committing to an August timeline, citing previous delays on other projects.

“I’m very hopeful for it to be August,” she said. “But you know we live in a bureaucracy. I remember when I said that about Holmes Rock Junior High, and then it opened a year later. So I’m very skeptical about saying August, but I do hope that it opens in August.”

The project has faced years of delays, with students still attending classes at an alternative site while construction continues.

North Andros MP Leonardo Lightbourne previously told ZNS that construction delays dated back several years and described the project as approximately “85 percent complete.”

He said residents are concerned the unfinished structure could become “somewhat of an eyesore” in the community if work continues to drag on.

Bahamas Union of Teachers president Belinda Wilson has also been critical of the project.

She said successive administrations have failed to complete the campus despite years of construction and millions of dollars allegedly spent on the development.

“That school has been building from 2017,” Mrs Wilson said. “It is sad that the parents and the community have allowed consecutive governments to leave the school incomplete after millions of dollars have supposedly been spent on the construction.”

She also questioned the government’s continued use of rented facilities as temporary accommodations for students.

Mrs Wilson said completing the campus was essential to restoring a full educational experience for students, including sports and extracurricular activities.

She urged the government to prioritise the school’s completion before the new school year.