Cabinet rubber-stamps OBC for Brac school
(CNS): Cabinet has approved the education ministry’s outline business case proposing a new high school on Cayman Brac, according to the most recent release of Cabinet meeting notes. The government’s inner circle apparently rubber-stamped the proposal at the 23 November meeting, the first since former premier Wayne Panton was kicked out of the job. The project continues to raise concerns, however, given the potential cost of a new school for the small number of students on the island and a declining population.
Cabinet approval means that money will almost certainly be allocated in the budget, due to be delivered tomorrow, to allow the education ministry and its department to begin the process of building the school. The whole project is expected to cost around CI$50 million, officials recently told CNS. Over $4 million has already been allocated in the current spending plan.
CNS has now filed a freedom of information request for the OBC, which officials have said would be released to the public.
Education Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, who is now the premier, has argued that the school is needed because of the current state of the Layman E. Scott Sr High School, which was built in the 1960s. Although it has produced many outstanding students, she said it had done so “not in the best of circumstances” and that the ageing school building needed to be replaced.
Earlier this year, parliament also voted in favour of a motion for a new high school in West Bay, but that project has not yet been formally approved by Cabinet. It is almost two decades since Alden McLaughlin, as education minister, proposed building a new high school in the district. In April, McKeeva Bush MP (WBW) presented a private member’s motion to parliament proposing that the Cayman Islands Government restart the process of building the Beulah Smith High School.
Agreeing that it was “time for it to be resurrected”, O’Connor-Connolly said she would begin the legislative process and the necessary business case to justify the project. She also said she would look at putting money in the upcoming budget to get that moving.
“I will do all within my power to ensure the requisite statutory requirements are completed,” she said, with the goal of having a groundbreaking before she and Bush “exit the political stage”. Both Bush and O’Connor-Connolly have said they plan to retire from parliament at the end of this administration.
Bush stated that the school was much needed, not only to meet the growing district needs but also to help improve the CIG’s provision of education. He said it would also reduce traffic congestion to and from George Town as students would be diverted to their own district school. He said it could also be used as a shelter and a recreational facility.
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Category: Education, Local News
,The government must ensure there is a proper tendering process in place to build and equip the school. This process has been largely ignored recently. Hopefully our very efficient Auditor General and her department will be all over it.
Now we are spending money on this project what has happened to the $6m purchase of the Smatts land on North Church Street.
The answer is nothing. Is there a budget. Probably not, rather like that of Cayman Airways for Barbados.
The Smatts land now has fencing is excess of height restrictions on one side. Who approved this. I do not believe it was the CPA.
Don’t stop the Carnival.
They should buy the fish market.
I tried to buy it but it is not for sale. Apparently there is a water business going in there.
The Auditor general is repeatedly ignored… the Port in now in deficit as their UDP board enjoys rewarding themselves with massive pay and stipend increases. Monthly overpayments because no one controls staff absences.
Does the Governor not have any oversight control of irresponsible spending.?
Gov Taylor was the only one who stood up to politicians rampant self serving expenditure, and perhaps it’s time for the FCO to step in… Any ideas Madam Governor..?
Chris thanks for your continuing interest in our island’s economy. What a pity you are not on any of our government boards.
I can see it now… A monument to her greatness in the Cayman Islands. A colossal waste of 50 million dollars. I do hope that she will champion her arrival on a Paver. Like the conquering Heroine from Aesop’s Fables.
Named after her as well…
The Judasana Pious Immaculate Pharisaic High School of Alternate Religion and Beliefs.
PS. All students will be required to wear a frock of many shades.. yes, the boys as well. And sunglasses are allowed in School, and must be worn on the head when speaking, or partaking in any form of public appearances.
Fix the dump.
Retender the dump to qualifying bidders that might furnish a bid.
How can this government justify a $50 Million dollar school for 151 students? YES THAT IS THE CORRECT NUMBER and 26 teachers. Do the math people. And what are the operating costs per year? This will be an outrage!
Lets see what MP kiss her #$@ and vote for for it in the budget and which ones say NO. Enough is enough!! JUJU stop wasting the people’s money. The Brac is dying and the school population has decreased over the last 3 years. All she wants is to secure her re-election by giving the work to her cronies. STOP the UDP corruption now.
It’s the Brac, bobo. It gives nothing to the local economy but it has two MPs and it has always gotten massive money spent on it for projects that just over a thousand people benefit from. Their civil servants sit up there collecting huge salaries and complaining about the stress they face as they sit at their desks trying not to yawn. It’s laughable. If it were a corporate entity, it would have been closed down years ago as irrelevant and unsustainable. Instead, it is a major player in our economy. Ah so it go.
Boat arrived in Brac, they can stay, leaving with ‘education’ bye bye
UDP corruption alive and well as politicians are now totally, shamelessly, engaged in raiding the nation’s coffers to ensure their re election and comfortable futures.
Nothing we can do other than witness Cayman spiral into debt, paid for by increases in the cost of everything to keep snouts in troughs.
Colosal waste of money.
Politicians should sign a personal guarantee that the construction is under budget otherwise they forfeit half their salary
This is the way things are done. This is consistent with the people’s wishes. That is why Miss Julie will always be elected for as long as she chooses to run.
what an absolute joke. “the next government will have to figure the finance out”. But the real joke is, half of the people in this government will be in the next government, and then blame the last government, WHICH IS THEM! But we will just be like “yeah! It was those last guys who suck” WE ARE THE FOOLS. Not them, they have us played.
Smarten up then and stop letting them play you. Couldn’t see this coming?
CI $50M is just for openers. By the time it’s all said and done it won’t be built on time and definitely not on budget. I’m guessing closer to $70M CI. 🤡🤡🤡
Then don’t let it proceed.
I see the tag says “Cayman Brac Public Pool”. Please do let us know when the public is able to make use of it…
The last time I was at the sports complex on the Brac, weeds were growing up through the track surface and the shelters and equipment for the football pitch were in rough shape. It is obvious that the facility is not being used for the most part and normal preventative maintenance is not being done. A huge waste of money.
We know
and…?
There are no trained track and field coaches on the Brac so why build a million dollar track surface? Makes zero sense.
the pool has been out of commission since the summer
Alright JuJu, now that you got a building to slap your name on, don’t F it up by building open plan classrooms. You don’t want your name on something that’s built shitty and just a huge waste of money.
because that wouldn’t be a fitting legacy???
Legacy of doing what exactly!? oh yeah! we all know what she’ll be remembered for!! Certainly won’t be for anything she did good in education!
Get used to all this because we are now living in a socialist country with totalitarian leaders who do as they want with no regard for the masses. Just wait till all the pork barrel projects get rubber stamped; the McKeeva Bush High School, Bryant Private Air Terminal, Seymour Riding Stables, and so on. Who cares because it is not their money they are blowing but our tax dollars.
It’s only socialism if the school actually gets beyond pouring of the foundations and some piles of rusting rebar. Like colossal “Nation Building” giveaways of the past, to opaque areas of the economy, and derelict churches that stand as reminders of past corruption, this is an authoritarian money grab.
You obviously don’t know what socialism is about. Educate yourself.
errr where’s the socialism you speak of???
Bonus payments for starters but perhaps you are getting some of it in your pockets mate.
That’s corrupt vote buying, not socialism. What percentage of her district works for CIG?
Hurray for Cayman Brac.
Can we name the new school after the Premier?
What other reason would it be approved, for the children?
I hope this time around, there will be funds budgeted to maintain that which is built. It will take several million just to repair/restore that which is run down/broken on site. The centre field has not fared well in the sun.
I don’t recall ever having seen a running track which is made of asphalt. Perhaps the plan was to use that for a base for a rubber/polyurathane track.
New International standard new track surface soon come.
Another million plus, to rot in the sun.
Really? Believe it when see it.
Native Caymanian you are forgetting the most important aspect of this new high school its going to bear her name and that all that matters here.
Grand Cayman will eventually be a dive attraction. It is only sensible to put as much infrastructure as possible on the Bluff.
$50 million for a Brac high school….. but crickets on the dump. Ridiculous.
Rather spend on a new school, than $100million plus plus on a woke resort “prison” to encourage crime by removing fear of incarceration.
I love the smell of FFR in the morning.
One high school in the Brac is quite enough. No need for two!
West Bay could do with a High School and Hurricane Type Community Center. Whatcha think Mac!
Read the article carefully! It will still be one high school, but at a new location with modern facilities.
And safe from storms…very important.
Like the existing one, that has stood up to every storm since the 1960s?
Like my house did…until IVAN…idiot.
And away from the sea – safer in the event of a tsunami warning.
Brackers are wise and will make a change from her in 2025
12:27, Brackers are wise just like West Bay people who keep voting in McKeeva at every election.
We are a brilliant people in the Cayman Islands. 🤡 🤡 🤡
If you have been watching, you will realise that Brackers haven’t been given a real choice in quite a while. We had a guy a while ago that came from Grand Cayman and was willing to run against her and live here if he won.
Prior to that, we had a local guy, Lyndon Martin.
Give the people a real a viable local choice and watch what happens. Otherwise, there is little point in voting in CBE.
With Lyndon’s record he’d fit right in with this lot.
Really? Listen to what you said…”a guy from Grand Cayman who was willing to run against her and live here if he won”. That’s exactly who we DON’T WANT! That guy does not have our interest at heart. He was only trying to get in for his own benefit! Where is he now? Went back to Grand Cayman shortly after he lost! What has he contributed to our Brac community? Nothing! Viable choice for CBE? We already have it, no thank you! My only fear is that we may not have a viable option when she decides to retire.
LMAO
Cut the crap… most of you who are posting don’t care one bit about the Brac. Most of you probably have never even been to the Brac. I am guessing you don’t think we deserve anything good anyway. Thank God for a Minister and now Premier who cares about everybody including those on the Brac. Like Grand Cayman, our children deserve modern facilities which will play a role in keeping them safe, further enrich their learning and serve the island for many more years to come. The reality is that we need Brackers in government to advocate for our needs and thank God we have had two in for the last few years. So yes, Brackers are wise indeed and if she decides to return, we will put her back in Cayman Brac East and there is nothing you in Grand Cayman can do about that!
There WILL only be one high school in CB… the old one will be closed down .
Not two schools! A new school to replace the old one with leaky windows that waste energy! Cayman Brac needs some new infrastructure. It is high noon and it is time a few crumbs and a little extra be extended to Cayman Brac.
Cayman Brac does not have the water lines extended east to Spot Bay. Could Grand Cayman possibly wake up and place a little bit of priority to each one of the two Sister Islands?
Further, you all that are trashing Hon. Juliana? You need to pray for her and for our new Government. Please remember that she is an educated Caymanian that has stepped forward to do this thankless job! Pray for your leaders and ask God to guide and lead all of us just like our Fathers and Mothers of yesterday Caymanians did for us.
If there is a Heaven she won’t be going there
The Cayman Islands is screwed with a religious zealot like her pretending to understand the role of Minister of Finance. She has failed as Minister of Education since the beginning.
We will be bankrupt at this rate and breach the FFR in no time. God help these islands.
You are making baseless claims that she failed as Minister of Education! Obviously, you are out of touch with the achievements of the Ministry of Education under her leadership. I have worked under 5 Ministers of Education, and in my evaluation, she has provided the best active leadership to our education system. She is results-oriented and genuinely cares about the students in the system. What do you know? What can you say? Where are your facts? And don’t quote current results if you cannot compare them regionally and internationally.
Don’t quote results if you don’t understand that it takes time to realize the impact of change on any group. Know that change in education is not seen overnight.
What has her Ministry Team accomplished? Successfully advocated for additional and improved resources, technological and others, for our students. Provided additional funding for scholarships for our students to pursue post-secondary studies. Provided meals for our students. Improved morale by improving the value placed on teachers through raising their salaries. Increased staffing through additional math specialists in primary schools. Increased the number of Assistant teachers across all schools. Continues to support improvements to our schools’ infrastructure, including the building of new ones that are needed. And I know you may disagree, but what do you know? I do not anticipate a positive reply, but change requires perseverance through opposition! I applaud our Minister of Education’s excellent leadership over these last two terms! She has not failed but has achieved a distinction for her superb service to education! Why don’t you join me in congratulating her? Or, really, what do you know?
Laughable! A lot of people in the education field, both private and public, would absolutely disagree with you!
The results speak for themselves and put your little rant to shame.
FACT: JUST 30% OF PUBLIC PRIMARY STUDENTS ARE ACHIEVING A SATISFACTORY LEVEL OR HIGHER IN LITERACY AND NUMERACY. THIS MEANS 70% ARE FAILING. FAILING.
How dare you have the nerve to defend her results despite spending obscene amounts on public education.
Cayman’s education bureaucracy needs to be fired, axed and torn down for their gross mismanagement.
Give parents vouchers and let them choose where and by whom they want their children educated. This would also cut the wasteful public education budget by at least 50%.
The fish rots from the head. The English proficiency numbers of our graduating students are in the simplest of terms: a failure.
When the percentage of kids that are not proficient in English the conclusion is they have been failed since the beginning by our school system. That means everyone from top to bottom associated with these illiterate kids have by definition failed and are failures.
That includes principals performing exorcisms. It includes teachers. Assistants. Administrators. Policy advisors. And the education Ministers over the years.
The entire system needs to be fired/scrapped and started over from scratch with the right people from top to bottom, regardless of their immigration status.
We spend more money per kid than almost anywhere in the world. So we should have one of, if not the, best education systems in the world.
Instead our schools are the equivalent of a homeless man wearing a Gucci belt.
9:55, So why are the scores for math and English public school students worse now than 10 years ago?
We have so many people graduating from our public schools without basic math, reading and writing skills.
The results of our public school system considering we pay more per capita and student than anywhere in the world are disastrous.
Get off your JuJu sycophant horse and simply look at the facts and talk to parents.
JuJu has been a total disaster as Minister of Education all these years and the Caymanian public knows it.
Stop taking us for fools.
Sadly these failed school leavers compete in the work place with private school kids who have had proper first world teachers ,and parental guidance.
They’re the first to complain that they are “graduates” yet have no job opportunities.
The only thing she has achieved is ensuring the overpayment of substandard teachers.
Teachers are paid way too much & aren’t being held accountable for the poor results.
You mean she gave you more money…
She failed. Not baseless at all.
If you read carefully, she’s a Minister FOR Finance (whatever that might mean).
Juliana O’Connor-Conolly is just like Sir Alden McLaughlin and her political twin McKeeva Bush. Their egos have been writing checks as a legacy to their political career that has always been about them, their arrogance, poor management and delusions of grandeur. Never about serving the people that elected them.
No, Kenneth Bryan is the new Mac Bush.
See how wealthy Jamaicans now running to him and kissing him up as their new savior who is going to “Look After” them.
MacBush has used up his status grants by Cabinet, so Kenneth stepping in to fill the gap.
Not to say Mac won’t continue in his consultancy role.
Fancy buildings don’t make good schools – quality teachers, strong curriculums and active parents/community engagement does. So much for democracy and common sense…
Schools with old buildings that are challenging to maintain and repair are not always safe for our children and may not always be easy to navigate and deliver the best learning experiences. Additionally, though fancy buildings alone don’t make good schools, good modern facilities can contribute making a good school even better. It’s never one thing, but can you imagine what we can achieve when quality teachers deliver a strong curriculum in a modern facility supported by active parents and an engaging community? Stop bashing the Minister and give her the credit she deserves!
Stop supporting the ‘Minister'(?) and don’t give her the credit she us not due!
Appears you are too influenced by her, trying to tell people what to do!
You see, I am not influenced by you and others who have their personal agendas! I will give her the credit she is due and it’s a lot! You can thumbs me down here a million times, but Educators know she deserves credit! It’s ironic that you are telling me “to stop supporting the Minister”! Aren’t you the one trying to tell me what to do! Get a life!
4.44am The Jamaican Educators know she’s paying them more for substandard teaching and educating their kids for free. What’s not to love.
She deserves no credit bye.
$50 million seems excessive for the high school student requirements on the Brac. Even with a built in hurricane shelter. I hope they are wise enough to show the public exactly what the money is to be spent on.
It’ll end up costing double that too. Ffs!!
Totally agree especially since they already build a hurricane shelter over there
This woman does not care about the people of the Cayman Islands, she only cares about her voters so she can get re-elected. This would have been fine if she was just the Brac representative, however she is now premier, therefore needs to look out for the entire country