‘It’s time to rebuild Sanchez’: Students, alumni and leaders rally around long-delayed school

By Alex J. Rhowuniong

For students of Simon Sanchez High School, the demand is remarkably simple: They want their school back.

But after years of temporary classrooms, double sessions, disrupted schedules and repeated delays in rebuilding the Yigo campus, students and their supporters say waiting quietly is no longer enough.

A group of students, alumni, community members and elected officials gathered this week ahead of a planned peaceful demonstration Aug. 23, aimed at putting Simon Sanchez High School back at the center of Guam's attention: SSHS Stand up!

“Today, and for Sunday, we are gathering to say, peacefully and proactively, that it is time to rebuild Sanchez,” youth organizer Trevan Atoigue said during a press conference announcing the demonstration. “We need you to come out and stand with us and let your voices be heard.”

The “peaceful and proactive protest wave” is scheduled from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the ITC Intersection and Mayor’s office in Tamuning.

Organizers described it as a family-friendly gathering where students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters can carry signs and publicly tell island leaders that the Simon Sanchez community has not forgotten its school.

“This movement is not political,” Atoigue said. “It is about the children, it is about the education, and it is about the future.”

But behind the demonstration lies a question that has followed the Sanchez rebuilding effort for years: Why has it taken so long?

One student called it the “million-dollar question.”

Individuals speaking at the press conference were notably cautious about assigning responsibility to any one government agency or political leader. They acknowledged the complicated procurement process and argued that rebuilding a major public school requires careful planning.

Government officials, however, offered a more pointed assessment.

Sen. Sabrina Salas Matanane, who recalled covering efforts to rebuild Sanchez during her previous career in the media, described the length of the ordeal as unacceptable.

“It is just extremely disappointing how long this has taken,” she said, adding that efforts to rebuild the school stretch back more than a decade.

She went further.

“It is a complete failure of our government,” Matanane said, while acknowledging that procurement problems affecting Sanchez are also found elsewhere in the government.

Sen. Vince Borja, addressing the gathering, said funding itself is no longer the principal obstacle. Instead, procurement has become one of the biggest challenges facing the project.

The latest procurement effort was canceled after it became entangled in a protest, meaning the government must once again move to solicit proposals.

That creates an uncomfortable dilemma.

Government procurement laws are designed to protect taxpayers and ensure contracts are awarded fairly. Weakening those safeguards simply to move a project faster could expose taxpayers to high costs or unfair contracting practices.

But every additional delay carries another cost—one borne largely by students.

The consequences are no longer theoretical.

One former Sanchez student, Haden Guerumar, described the frustration of attending classes for only several days before another disruption forced students into asynchronous learning and hard-copy assignments.

“The situation is not ideal,” he said.

For students who learn best through direct interaction with teachers, he said, placing a computer between educator and student creates another barrier. Some students also lack reliable internet connections or adequate devices.

Another youth organizer recalled beginning high school under double sessions, with classes starting as early as 6:10 a.m. and ending around 11 a.m.

Students are effectively being asked to absorb the consequences of problems they did not create.

And at least one lawmaker acknowledged that government bears responsibility for how the situation developed.

The senator said previous government leaders had done “a horrible job” maintaining public-school facilities, including Simon Sanchez.

Instead of adequately maintaining aging buildings, problems were often patched until deterioration worsened, he said. Typhoon Mawar ultimately helped push the Sanchez campus beyond the point where students could continue occupying it.

That admission raises an issue extending beyond one high school.

If Guam does not adequately maintain the schools it already owns, Simon Sanchez could become a warning of what may eventually happen elsewhere: deterioration, closure, emergency relocation and, ultimately, enormously expensive replacement.

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For the Sanchez community, however, Sunday's demonstration is less about dissecting decades of government decisions than about preventing another generation from inheriting the same problem.

Students, alumni and community leaders repeatedly emphasized unity rather than blame.

They know a new campus cannot appear overnight.

Guerumar repeatedly reminded those gathered, “Rome was not built overnight, and neither is Simon Sanchez going to be.”

But after more than a decade of discussions, setbacks and promises, the Guam community is increasingly determined that “not overnight” cannot be allowed to mean not anytime soon.

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