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7news was there - and here's what happened:..

Jules Vasquez reporting
This morning at a few minutes to 8:00 classes at Orange Walk Technical High should have been starting up - but instead police were guarding the entrance

And as the bell rang at 8:00 am - instead of going to class - the students started heading for the exits.

Students from all forms walked out onto the street in unison - they seemed to know the plan as it had been shaping up over the weekend. And pretty soon a fair amount of the school's 80 students were on the street milling around having a good old time.

Some even had signs hoisted high while in the school yard there was disarray - for sure no learning would occur this Monday morning.

And when we saw the teachers streaming out the gate - that was pretty much confirmed

William Robinson, IT Teacher
"As you can see all our students have walked out of our school because they are expressing solidarity about what is happening in our institution. We have practically more than half our staff out here to express that we are very dissatisfied with what the principal is doing as we speak."

"The main objective of what we are asking the government of Belize, everybody who has a say in this institution is that we don't want the principal in this institution; that is the ultimate objective."

They are talking about Principal Elizabeth Muschamp who has been here for a year - but has apparently made many in her staff unhappy.

And while the principal and those teachers who support her strictly refused to speak with us - Those disgruntled staffers have a lengthy document cataloguing their concerns; it is signed by 27 of 47 teachers

Jules Vasquez
"So now you all have walk out of the classroom; out of the school - many of the students have done so as well. When will you all return?"

William Robinson, IT Teacher
"We have to wait and see what's going to happen because like I said we don't have authority to send students to their respective homes."

Jules Vasquez
"They are walking home right now or walking somewhere."

William Robinson, IT Teacher
"I am seeing and we inform them they are not supposed to leave because we don't have any authority for that, no teacher is going to leave. We have to be here, this is our job and what we are doing right now is that we are trying to express our discontent with what is happening and if we are not being heard we are going to take it as far as possible. I am saying that we are going to even call off classes tomorrow because teachers are not going to be teaching - bottom-line. Students are coming and they are not going to be taught by our teachers."

Strong talk - and it was backed up by the students - but what are all these issues?:

Student
"This morning when I came to school I thought that I was going to my father's farm because as I came to school there were feces all over as you entered the gate. I don't think Technical is a pasture, as far as I am concern it is a school, not a pasture."

Jules Vasquez
"Whose fault is that?"

Student
"The principal."

William Robinson, IT Teacher
"You can go into our compound and you can see all the nasty things that our students have to go through. This is not right. If we are going to have animals and so on we have to ensure that we properly take care of these animals. Students learn about them and they feed and so on; whatever projects they are embarking. Come on, this is a school."

Jossette Dawson - Student
"If you would take a look in our school yard you would see all kind of animal feces and we have to eat in that same school yard there. That is just disgusting."

Criscia Cowo - 1st Form
"Sometimes we want to use the bathroom and only one is open. From 400 students only one bathroom is open. That's unfair for us and she wants us to go eat under the shed where there are like 10 tables for 400 students; that's unfair what she is doing."

Teacher
"We had a business expo last school year, we had a raffle, we had a fashion show and up to today the teachers - those who are here have not gotten information about how much money we made."

Student
"She is too ignorant and don't try to help us in the school. The shed doesn't have any chairs and she expects us to sit down and eat right there."

Jules Vasquez
"The principal isn't running a popularity contest, so then why you all have to walk out school on that?"

Student
"Because we disagree with what happened with the other students. Everybody have the right to an education."

Flor Rhaburn, Daughter Suspended
"I did it for solidarity of my daughter - one month she is out of school."

Jules Vasquez
"Is it your opinion that she was drinking at the carnival in Belize City?"

Flor Rhaburn, Daughter Suspended
"I tell everyone that I wasn't there in Belize City but her older sister was with her and she told me that if she was drinking then take her packing, but no she say that she wasn't drinking."

Aguida Ramos - Vendor
"It's not fair that they are charging $500 for one little piece of house in the compound of Technical High school. Next thing, there is the principal selling in the high school too; he is affecting us because we have one price for food and he has another price. That's not fair."

Teacher
"Only today as you notice her husband hasn't reach, but he is here every single day, sometimes even on weekends. As a matter of fact he is here."

Jules Vasquez
"He is here doing what?"

Teacher
"We don't know and we are questioning that. We don't want his here. I don't know what he is doing here every day."

Julissa Torres - Student
"The one I am most concern about and I think the students are too is the lunch changes - they are confining us to this shed for lunch. We have to stay there for the full 40 minutes and I feel like, we are in class for like 2 hours and now we have to stay there. What happen to our freedom? We have to at least have the freedom to roam about the campus because that's the only time we have out of classes and then we have to ask for a bathroom pass - it doesn't makes sense really. Its feels like I am confined like in a prison or something like that."

But not all the students or teachers are unhappy with their principal:

Giannini Gillette - Student
"I don't support it because the principal didn't do anything wrong. When she came here this school has change - they put on new programs, they fix up the place. For all those years the school wasn't paint, it wasn't fixed up. Everything change now and I don't know why the teachers and the students are against this - this is a better principal that came. They don't appreciate what they have - when they have something good, they don't appreciate it. When they notice that everything went wrong then they will say that they should have stay with that principal. All this is foolishness; I am not with this and I don't see anything wrong with this principal."

Shan Hernandez - Student
"I feel bad because they are talking nonsense. Some of us eat at the feeding program; sometime we don't have anything to eat and this principal takes money from her pocket and gives us to eat."

Shantae Dominguez - Student
"All of this is unhealthy for the school because we are missing out on a whole day of classes. This isn't bringing any good to any of us."

And it continued like that for hours, no one taking charge - students walking around - some hanging around, some chatting in the classroom, some going home.

The Board chairlady and the district education officer came to mediate - and arranged a meeting with the minister

District Education Officer
"At 10am the minister is coming in so we can have a meeting."

Jules Vasquez
"So what should happen now?"

District Education Officer
"We'll speak after the meeting."

That meeting was convened at around 11 - and went for over two hours - followed by a meeting with the board.

So, here's what came out of that meeting; a late evening release from the Ministry says that, quote, "While the Minister listened to the concerns of the staff, he also made it clear to all present that legally he is not authorized to make any decisions on the concerns that they have raised," end quote.

Those decisions are for the Board of Management and so the minister said that he was there to quote "establish a process by which the school could return to daily operation."

According to the ministry release, quote, "The need for all to act professionally in order to resolve the concerns was agreed by all." So the timeline is that daily operation of the school should be restore dby tomorrow, October 9th. And then, the board, the principal and District Education Manager will meet with the staff to hear their concerns before the end of the week; and this meeting will be preceded by a meeting between the principal and heads of department.

According to the release, "all agreed to the proposed way forward."