Board of Education website down for over a month due to missed payments

The V.I. Board of Education’s interim executive director shared during its regularly scheduled meeting that its website has been down for over a month due to the Department of Finance’s failure to pay the website vendor.

A Finance Department official, however, said that the board did not make a payment request until Jan. 13, which was two days prior to its regularly scheduled meeting held Wednesday evening. “The website is currently down for nonpayment,” Sandra Bess announced during that meeting. “We have been working with the Department of Finance to understand why they’re not paying it.” On Thursday, a board official said that all payments were rectified. Board Chair Kyza Callwood said via email, in response to questions from The Daily News, that “All outstanding payments have been addressed as of today, January 16, 2025.” He added that the board anticipates the website will be back online within a week or less.

During Wednesday’s hearing, board officials were unsure why the Finance Department did not pay the website vendor, Crucian Point LLC. When asked on Thursday, Callwood essentially dodged, replying via email that “all financial matters concerning this issue have been resolved, and the focus is now on ensuring uninterrupted service moving forward.”