The U.S. Virgin Islands has finalized a deal with the U.S. National Park Service to exchange an uninhabited island, Whistling Cay, for a historic property on St. John where a public school will be built. This deal, decades in the making, aims to provide equitable educational opportunities for students on St. John. However, opposition to the swap comes from concerns about forgetting the historical significance of Whistling Cay, which has ties to slavery. The guardhouse on the island was once used to monitor slaves escaping from St. John to Tortola, and some worry that too much ancestral land has already been given to the federal government.
Despite these concerns, the local government has stated that the culturally significant land and artifacts on the estate will be preserved during the construction of the new school. Currently, public high school students on St. John have to travel to nearby St. Thomas for school, but the new school will eliminate this need for ferry transportation. The construction will be funded by over $133 million from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Governor Albertson Bryan expressed satisfaction with the deal, emphasizing its importance for the educational development of St. John’s students. While the opposition persists, the focus remains on providing a modern and accessible learning environment for the island’s youth.
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