Meeting To Be Held At St. David’s Primary School
There is a meeting scheduled for this Monday at St. David’s Primary Assembly Hall, with people asked to “come together as a community and take a stance against the Ministry of Education’s consideration to close our school.”
This follows after Minister of Education Wayne Scott said that closing Gilbert Institute, Prospect Primary School, St. David’s Primary School and Heron Bay Primary School are among the possible scenarios of school reorganisation detailed in the SCORE report, noting that he is sharing the report’s findings, and has “not made a decision regarding school reorganization or school closures.”
The event poster says, “Attention the Entire St. David’s Community, if you do not wish to see our beloved St. David’s Primary School become a casualty of the recently released SCORE report, you are encouraged to attend an important community meeting.
“Monday, February 15th at 6.30pm at St. David’s Primary Assembly Hall. Let us come together as a community and take a stance against the Ministry of Education’s consideration to close our school.”
It’s unfortunate that the Minister has handled potential closures in the manner he has. Disappointing and disheartening to say the least. Education is not something we can hold as anything less than a top priority, and unfortunately the OBA do not seem to hold it in high regard.
Minister Scott, please be careful with how you handle changes to our system, as our most vulnerable are the ones who will be effected. And despite the PLP not doing anything to fix this while they were in government, they now seem to have someone looking over education who cares greatly for our children (Foggo), so please consider her response, the SCORE report and consulting the stakeholders as you move forward with making decisions.
All he did was release the report so far.
The whole aim is to improve the schools and value for dollars – ie. protect the most vulnerable.
Well said but deaf ears are amongst us.
The Minister is not the only one.
Where did he get the stats.
Who/Whom advised him.
Shalom.
Agreed the PLP did nothing about education when they could have. They were more interested in spending money where it could easily disappear. It doesn’t matter how carefully the DOE broach the subject of school closures, there are those that will complain. The bottom line is that to save money we have to close some schools (and reduce the number of teachers)… I was wrong the PLP did do something about education.. They used up all the money!!!
Shut up
Wheather PLP OR OBA/UBP Spent all the “money” in the PAST or not (which ever you choose to point a finger at) ,TODAY still They are more focused on LUXURIOUS EVENTS/UNNECESSARY ROAD WORKS AND THE LIKES more than anything else when it comes to money in this country an EASY portion of what they are wasting money on as far that is concerned can be put back into the most important thing in this country when it comes to the future which is THE KIDS SCHOOLING/EDUCATION/COMMUNITY ! Even if PLP screwed up the “money” as you say , as a government/party NOW running the COUNTRY they are supposed to be to do right by the PEOPLE and try their best to rectify the problems at hand no matter who before them messed up in the past.And right now I do not see any of that happening. THAT IS ALL
Not to worry, we have the America’s Cup.
Foggo also is the MP for St. Davids she drives through, many have not seen her in the community visiting since then. Take that back, Good Friday at St David’s Cricket Club and County Cup. Out of sightout of mind.
Bermudians wake up and see what the OBA is trying to do to our country. Stand up for our rights or we’re gonna be taken for granted. They wants us as the lower class people to leave the island so that they and the wealthy can live in harmony. I bet you didn’t see this coming did you? A sad term in Bermuda
Are the class sizes sustainable? When expressing concern at the large class sizes at fee paying primary schools in Bermuda (20-30 per class) I was advised that we could only expect valses of 15-20 at state schools! Looks like a commercial reality.
Ms Foggo of the PLP comes up on the TV with the often repeated mean spirited gripe about the America’s Cup, about the money being available for this and not education. For those with little ability to understand, the America’s cup is a good investment, and will result in there being more money available for things like education and social programs. One often does need to spend money to get a return. If fishermen or taxi drivers did not buy fuel, or farmers did not spend money on seeds or fertilizer, they would not make money. I do understand the need for the PLP to diss the AC as it is a major coup for the OBA and what is good for the OBA and Bermuda is bad for the PLP. The more welcoming we are, the better everyone in the Island will be. Lets all support in enjoy the event.
While I agree that yes, the phrases about Americas Cup money often come across as sour grapes or being unnecessarily snide, consider that these situations represent people feeling frustrated that attention appears to be lacking while high-profile (and also, perceived to pander to big business/wealthy folks) issues are the golden child. Some will feel that they can’t even get a single bone thrown to them, while America’s Cup or the like get the feast-like-kings treatment.
This is the first I am hearing about the condition of some of our schools, Works and Engineering did the repairs and painting for years, if there were challenges, they did not happen in the last 12 months, so I feel much greater work could have been done 5 years ago or earlier. On another note, as more and more space becomes available in these schools, various governme ent departments can be moved in…this will result in a savings in the huge rents now paid to the corporate world. The public purse has been mis-used and abused for a long long time, and now the seniors who helped build this country suffer in their final years. Whats to become of these empty schools vandalism and dereliction and breeding grounds for various elements.
St. Davids stand FIRM!!!
Get em Bill !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
why are they always picking on st.davids
they close the post office so that st.george could say they have a post office in that on horse town we all know that st.davids had the better building .they even tried to close the lamb foggo clinic
what next
dont blame the OBA for this if it turns out bad
We all understand that when finances take a dip, things need to change, but if St. David’s is closed, and let’s say there’s a pta meeting and the parents travel by bus daily, how are they getting home? Will the ptb alter their schedule as well or was this not thought of? Please government let’s use a bit more thought and planning before you think your stats are the only things that matter. All brains and no common sense are what’s making this island the way it is from all parties. Thanks for failing us!!!
I agree that there are criteria used by the SCORES committee to assist them with their findings and provide an Independent Report for the Ministry, but criteria can also be put in place to dictate a result, thus not always making the resulting options put forward as correct ones. In the three options for the East Zone; ONLY ONE closure is mentioned?
While I see size of classes on one side, and grading levels (community impact) on the other side; I ask myself which, if any of the thirteen criteria outweigh the other. When there are two locations with strengths in different areas, do we sacrifice enrollment numbers, grading levels and importance to a community over floor space?
For sure the facts that St. David’s Primary’s enrollment numbers (higher than other options), grading (third highest in Bermuda) and geographical location (host to an entire island community), just to name a few MUST carry some weight.
Good luck to the community of St. David’s in this fight. I truly believe there HAS to be a better option than the closure of this school.
which PLP ex-supporters has the guts to say they voted OBA ?!!
Rodney I think
Last bus from St David,’s is 9:10pm been for sometime.
We need more schools as it is, the bigger classes get the harder it will be for kids to learn and teachers to teach. If it’s a problem with funds then any Government workers who take home 6 figures and up should get a pay cut and that would create plenty of money.
What are class size numbers?
I can’t believe the OBA wants to close my childhood schools and my present children’s school to save dollars!!! They should have thought about that when they spent all that money other place like the tourism authority and the Americas Cup bs. Wake up bermudian people this is a clear sign that they are trying to kick us out of our own country to benefit them and the wealthy. Smh. A concerned bermudian
THERE’S NOT ENOUGH KIDS TO FILL THOSE SCHOOLS….WHAT DON’T YOU GET?!
Well, the new PRC’s children will fill them up.
I just don’t understand why everyone’s harping on the money, the money- honestly, if money could solve the problems in education, we’d have the best education system in the world, but that’s not the problem. It’s performance, it’s attitudes toward education- you aren’t ‘given’ an education, you earn every degree you have. If students won’t work and don’t value education, then you can throw whatever funds you want at it, and it won’t make a difference. When you have teachers who don’t treat the profession with the reverence and respect it deserves, money you throw at it doesn’t help. There are many, many broken parts of the education system, but money will not solve any of its biggest issues. Stop it. We all need to take responsibility for where it’s gone. We’re a society of entitlement, at every level. ‘More’ isn’t the answer, quality, all around is. Expect more from your students- they can handle it. Expect better from your teachers- if they can’t handle it, they need to get out. It’s not that hard, but not about money. So given that, why wouldn’t they want to close underutilized schools or underperforming ones?? If you don’t have to waste the money, why do it?