A good school system is a recruitment incentive for Federal

families with school-age children to work in Puerto Rico. When our children are happy and developing well in school programs, we parents can enjoy living and working in Puerto Rico.

Problems of ACS We have two problems with our children's edu

cation in ACS:

1. Demolition of ACS Middle School The permanent Elementary School and High School buildings were constructed by the HEW Office of Education and are located on land which has been deeded to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. In contrast, the Middle School classes have been housed since 1966 in old wooden Army barracks which were built in 1942 with an expected use period of ten (10) years. During the Vietnam conflict, the enrollment at the Elementary and Junior-Senior High School jumped drastically, and immediate relief was needed for housing the influx Naturally, HEW could not erect a permanent building overnight. When the Army generously offered the use of the old barracks for the school's purpose, it seemed that a temporary solution had been found. At the same time, an application for a new JuniorSenior High School on the base was accepted by the Office of Education and, subsequently, the final plans were approved 21 Oct. 1969. Unfortunately, the money needed for construction under Section 10

of students.

of PL 81-815 was frozen by then President Nixon, and our school now claims the dubious distinction of having the oldest project on

a list of building application that has been approved, but never funded. The Army barracks housing the Antilles Middle School have continued to deteriorate with time, to the point that they are now condemned and will be demolished commencing 1 July 1977. And rightfully so. This situation was only tolerated because every year it was expected that the freeze on new school construction would be lifted and the plans approved in 1969 would be implemented. Meanwhile, for 11 years the students in these condemned buildings have been exposed to the following life and safety hazards:

1.

Buildings with deteriorated piers and below-floor struc

tural members, liable to collapse from advanced decay alone or under the stress of major storms (Puerto Rico is in the hurricane belt.)

2.

Combustible buildings with unsafe electrical wiring,

corridors that are narrower than the legal minimum, and no manually

operated fire alarm system.

3. Buildings infested with bats and rats and contaminated with their excrement. Bat excrement harbors histoplasma, which produces histoplasmosis, a sometimes fatal lung infection. Rats carry leptospirosis, a disease which may result in fatal hepatitis.

4. Buildings surrounded by open drainage ditches, a source

of disease-carrying mosquitoes.

Our children and their teachers have been subjected to the

ever present danger of these bat-, rat-, and termite-infested buildings for too long. It is inconceivable that the Federal Government has been willing to educate our children in these deplorable conditions.

Toward the end of the school year 1975-76, the administration announced that several of the old barracks were to be torn down during the Summer recess. Because the parents were concerned about possible overcrowding and loss of some special services, they became loosely organized in hopes of bettering communication between parents, teachers, and the administration in order to solve problems that might arise. But when classes resumed in the Fall of 1976 and the Army gave eviction notice to the Middle School, the Concerned Parents Group actively took part in finding a solution for the housing of 637 Middle School students. First, an open house at the Elementary School drew a large crowd. A panel discussion outlined the status of the Middle School buildings, the importance of keeping grades 5-8 separate from the lower and upper grades, and the administration's alternative lutions to the problems. The proposed solutions were (1) double sessions, (2) classes all year on the 45-15 plan, (3) portable classrooms, and (4) ask the Army for any other unused buildings.

The portable classrooms were favored by the parents until such time as the new Junior-Senior High School could be funded and constructed, but HEW still did not have the funds available under

PL 81-815. During the next six months additional meetings were held,

speeches were given, and letters were written: to find an answer to the problem. The first meeting with Resident Commissioner-elect Baltasar Corrada was most fruitful and eventually resulted in the arrival in Washington of two mothers whose main concern was to lobby for the funds needed for portable classrooms. By this time, the Concerned Parents Group had become the Parents Organization for Quality Education and Buchanan Schools, having surmounted the obstacle of reaching the parents through 52 Federal agencies. With the help of Resident Commissioner Corrada, the parents were successful in having language put into the HEW appropriations bill, H.R. 7555. When this legislation is enacted, we will receive financial aid to construct portable classrooms.

Until the time that the portable classrooms can be erected, however, the Antilles Middle School will be spread out over a distance of 1-1/2 miles, from the Elementary School to the High School (see Fort Buchanan map in the Appendix). The fifth grade will be absorbed into the Elementary School, thus creating overcrowded conditions. The sixth grade will be housed in two buildings scheduled for demolition in 1978. The seventh and eighth grades will occupy half of the U.S. Army Reserve building in front of the high school. Since this building is used by the USAR at night and on weekends, students and teachers will not be allowed to keep supplies or materials in the rooms. The corridors of the USAR building is so narrow that the students will remain in the classrooms and the teachers will change

classes. No one in the administration has answered our question on the fire and safety hazards. Two other buildings in that area are being readied for use, one of which floods during heavy rains, which are frequent in Puerto Rico.

The portable classrooms will relieve this strain when and if they are made available, hopefully by January 1978. But this type of building will not last indefinitely in the tropics, so it is necessary to begin construction as soon as possible on the proposed Junior-Senior High School.

In his In-depth Study of School Facilities, Dr. James Woffter of the HEW Office of Education emphasizes the need for a new JuniorSenior High School. He points out that the Middle School is not up to the Life Safety Code and the American National Standard Institute (A117.1-1961 (R1971) Architectural Barriers to the Physically Handicapped. Although scheduled for release 15 May 1977, this report still has not been released. The preliminary report is an adequate analysis of the problems and needs of ACS. The only error we can find is that the High School and Elementary Schools are not fully airconditioned --only the administrative wings are.

2. Lack of Communication - Most of the problems parents have experienced at ACA, including the above-mentioned need for a new school, have a common factor of a basic lack of communication between administration, teachers, and parents. This lack of communication is evident in each problem or crisis and contributes to