Dan Scott takes helm of new education board
(CNS): Dan Scott, managing partner at Ernst and Young, has been appointed to lead the new Cayman Islands Education Council, according to the latest edition of the government’s Gazette. Scott, who has served, and continues to serve, on numerous other government boards, is the first private sector chairperson of an education board after the law was amended last year. He and other members of the council, which includes the CIMA director, a supermarket owner, a backbench MLA and education experts, took up their posts on 1 September.
The revamped legislation enables the education minister to delegate education-related matters to the council, which is given power to make decisions on matters handed to it by the minister, covering issues such as regulating teachers and registering schools.
The issue of education and standards, particularly in government schools, remains a hot-button topic, which, along with local unemployment, dominated the election debate. As a result, the newly constituted council is likely to find itself in the public firing line before long.
Barbara Connolly, the PPM’s backbench novice MLA who was appointed as councillor to the new education minister, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, has been appointed deputy chair.
Members are Debra McLaughlin, Jacqueline Ebanks and Shauna Haylock, who are all education experts; Cindy Scotland, the director of CIMA; Darrel Rankine, a well-known community youth worker; Maxine Bodden, a lawyer and unsuccessful PPM candidate who made it clear during the 2017 campaign that she has her eye on a political career that involves education; Christina Bodden, a finance lawyer with Maples; Deborah Thompson, who was nominated by the independent/assisted schools; supermarket owner Woody Foster, who was nominated by the business community; Nola Bodden and Claudette Lazzari, representing the Sister Islands; the education ministry chief officer or his designate; the director of the Department of Education Services; and board secretary Kimberly Kirkconnell from the education ministry.
Category: Local News
Education Council is only there to recommend changes.
If the government decided to ignore their recommendations, then this is a waste of everyone on the board’s time.
Let’s hope that this is not the case because the public school system needs some serious revamping.
The director of Education Services also the former principal of JGHS.
She didn’t perform then and I expect even less of her now.
Isn’t it a glaring conflict for the advisory council, whose role is to provide advice to the Minister, to have the Councillor for Ed as Deputy Chair? Collectively, the Councillor and the Minister are the political leadership of the Ministry. Remember, the Councillor acts as Temporary Minister when the Minuster is away.
The civil service mentality will break them all. Zero accountability equals zero progress in the system that needs a complete overhaul of management at the ministry level and within the education department.
Dan with the help of the new improved civil service will do well.
Stop talking crap about zero accountability where have you been living?
Most of the people complaining these days are complaining because they expect to be promoted based on the fact they are a Caymanian. Those days are gone. High Performance is new norm in the civil service.
Julianna political backer, really all of the qualification needed.
Well done Maxine!
Congratulations Dan. They could not have chosen a better person for this position.
I think Mr. Scott is the right man for the job and will contribute (with the other board members) to make improvements in the education system. God knows the public school system needs help and I look forward to the contributions made.
In my opinion Dan has all the qulaifications for the job. I have known him for many years and he will not let us down,
Specifically, what qualifications are these, Mr Johnson, other than the fact that you’ve known him for many years and he is, like you, from an accounting background? XXXXX ….and there are quite a lot of us believe it or not…..who don’t get terribly excited every time an accountant/auditor/lawyer is put in charge to “save us”.
What an assenine remark. What do you want? A retired headmaster?
You obviously do not like professionals and moreover hide behind anonymous. Do you have a mental problem. Although not a doctor I can help. I am in the yellow pages. Please phone.
Dan will do a good job here. I don’t know what all this hoopla is about. It is a ‘Council’ put in place to help guide the Country’s school policies etc. Goodness peace! give Dan and his team a chance. The Education Council has been in place for eons. This is not a new thing. They are only changing the Board Members. Feel sure that this will be a good thing.
At least he’s not one of these awful bible worshipping phonies we’ve had for the last 40 years, preaching to the schools what they don’t practice in their own lives.
Nothing against Mr Scott but when in this government system going to get fresh people and fresh and innovative ideas instead rotating the same old names on boards and commissions and councils. Which by the way are mostly filled up with cronies and Lodge Bros. This place will never move forward and thats probably exactly how some want it.
Did you read the article? There are quite a few new fresh names that you are looking for that wouldn’t qualify to be a lodge brother based on their gender.
At last a decent upstanding Caymanian appointment , professional honest educated and beyond reproach.
Congratulations Dan.
Maxine Bodden for Education Minister in 2021 is the ppm objective here folks
Great! Sounds like an excellent idea!
Sounds good to me. Should have happened this time!
People like Nuff Respect cant be bothered with facts. They are too busy complaining. I wonder how Mr. Scott made it to the top of his profession. He must be a furener. Oh yea he is a Bracka
I hope have volunteered and agreed to forgo any cash stipend for your time on a board.
Exactly what qualifies Mr. Scott to head up an Education Council? Does he have an Associates, Bachelors or Masters degree in Education? His one claim is that his father was a school teacher and school headmaster? What’s wrong with education in The Cayman Islands is that everyone is an educator. An accountant is now fronting as a university educated, informed, experienced AND SUCCESSFUL educator. Dang!!!! I read horoscopes every dang day. I’m a MF astronaut !!
Pray tell what is your education level. Dan Scott is an educated man in his own right and has been employer for many years in the field of Accounting. He has vast experience and knowledge of what our people need to succedd. He and Noal Boddenfor many years have ensured that a cadre of Caymanians have been educated through Ernst & Young; a firm which was Caymanized very early in the game and who holds its employees to high standards.
INSTEAD OF CRYING DOWN OUR PEOPLE LET US GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO SUCCEED NOT PUT THEM DOWN BEFORE THEY START.
Is this negative thinking good for the country, is this the kind of Cayman we want our children to grow up in, where we don’t give each other a chance where we don’t laud each others efforts and triumphs.
Listen yow whoever you are your opinion is your opinion of course, BUT, for our country’s sake get off the negative band wagon.
I believe the gentleman you refer to who is almost as big a real estate person developing our lands as Mr Dart is Naul not Noal Bodden as you say.
No pun intended to Nuff Respect or Mr Scott . But when the Government of the Cayman Islands hires someone else to do Ms J O’Connor job , that’s past the mark of a incompetent Government.
CNS: Mr Scott has not been hired to do anyone’s job. He has been appointed as chairman of the board. There has been an education board for a very long time, just as there has been a health board, immigration board, pensions board, and all the other boards, too numerous to mention.
Another keyboard warrior who can’t bother to read an article…
I know that Mr Scott was appointed , is he going to be working for free on the board ?
Would he be doing a lot of the Minister job if he can , or is he just appointed because he’s a big wig .
Thanks Ultimate Warrior for that piping hot take.
There’s already someone handling the Minister’s duties, her Councillor. Good thing she didn’t get one of the other Councillors appointed to Education or she would be in trouble. All kudos to Barbara. Tara should have been allowed to finish what she started now the improvements to Education & the improved Labour law are languishing and Caymanians are the losers.
go dan go…as a fellow spotbayer…i proud of you….weboth cpa’ s and ut graduates!?
don’t get it? why would anyone give a thumbs down to this?
Caymanians aka crabs in a bucket.
Possibly because they don’t think the appointment (or the qualifications of being a UT graduate Spot Bayer with a CPA) is worth a thumb’s up?
All the best Dan, delighted you have a hand in it.
Lodge brother.
He is not a Lodge member and so what if he was?
Too bad you didn’t take and English or grammar classes at UT.
Want to believe that all the negative posts here are from Guest workers in our island. Dan is one of the finest young Caymanians there are, whether you like it or not, you better swallow it. You came and saw him here and just maybe when you will leave (which none of you want to do) he will be here when you leave. Our own and we are proud of it..
“Young Caymanian”???? For Chrissakes he’s about 56!!!
now what on earth makes you so sure that these comments from guests workers in the Country!!! I doubt it very much. Have you not heard about the Cayman ‘crab mentality’. We are our own worst enemies.