Students and teachers of a remote secondary school in Murcia, Negros Occidental are looking forward to improved learning conditions after the municipal government inaugurated and turned over its first permanent building while committing additional infrastructure and support projects.
Mayor Gerry Rojas, together with Vice Mayor Johnny Reosura and members of the Sangguniang Bayan, recently led the turnover of the school building at Purok Tumpok in Barangay Damsite to Department of Education officials headed by Negros Occidental Schools Division Superintendent Gladys Amelaine Sales.
The new structure, funded through the Local School Board, consists of two classrooms and a multi-purpose room equivalent in size to two classrooms.
The facility can serve as a faculty room, administrative office, and library.
The school currently has 54 students from Grades 7 to 11 and is situated in a farming community accessible only through Barangay Felisa in Bacolod City.
During the turnover, Rojas announced plans to further expand the campus by constructing eight additional classrooms.
“We will build eight more classrooms here. Two classrooms will be funded by the Local School Board from next year’s budget while we will request funding for two classrooms each from the offices of Congressman Javi Benitez, Abang Lingkod Rep. Manman Ko, and Governor Bong Lacson,” the mayor said.
He also committed to address the school’s basic infrastructure needs, including electricity, water supply, and road access.
Rojas said the municipality has already coordinated for the installation of electric service and will soon establish a water system.
He added that the town will seek funding from Third District Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez for the concreting of the access road, which becomes muddy during the rainy season.
In the meantime, the municipal government will deploy its heavy equipment to improve the road and ensure safer access for students and teachers.
Rojas explained that the construction of a permanent building had been delayed because the elementary school campus, where high school classes were previously held, was privately owned, preventing the municipality and the Department of Education from spending public funds on the site.
He said the municipality was unable to acquire the property after negotiations with its owners, but the project proceeded after Leticia Benares donated a one-hectare property to the local government.
With the new campus now in place, Rojas said the municipal government will continue supporting the school’s development and hopes to eventually transform it into a farm school, taking advantage of its location amid agricultural lands. ||
