By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net 

Parents have raised concerns about some Family Island schools a week after the new term began, citing staff shortages, unsanitary facilities, and a lack of “running water” — issues education officials say have been addressed or are inaccurate.

 At LN Coakley High School in Exuma, the island’s only high school, parents who spoke to The Tribune painted a grim picture of conditions last week: no principal, “too few” teachers, unclean bathrooms, uncut grass and inconsistent water supply.

One parent said her children were dismissed after only half a day last week because of the poor conditions and lack of staff. However, education officials denied this yesterday, insisting the school was not dismissed for these reasons.

“They sit inside the homeroom and do nothing,” the parent said. “I’ve never seen it like this. The whole of last week, there was no bus because the bus break down so the parents had to drop their children off to school or they had to hike ride.”

Photos and videos shared on social media showed toilets filled with faeces and filthy bathrooms.

While officials claim some of the images were outdated, parents insist they accurately reflect current conditions at LN Coakley.

Other parents warned the unsanitary state of the facilities could put female students at risk of infection.

“It’s not a safe space for them to be in,” another parent added.

Parents, who visited the school yesterday, also found that toilets were still not flushing.

FNM candidate for Exuma and Ragged Island Debra Moxey-Rolle yesterday accused the government of neglecting schools in the area and demanded answers.

However, education officials pushed back yesterday, insisting that schools are not being neglected and that some issues have already been addressed.

Don Barr, the island’s district superintendent, confirmed the school was dismissed early twice last week — once for an administration orientation and another due to a temporary water outage caused by a lightning strike.

He said the water supply has since been restored and the school premises remain clean.

He said a small portion of the grounds that had uncut grass was trimmed yesterday.

Education Director Dominique McCartney-Russell also supported his claims, attributing the water disruption to bad weather.

Officials added that water was only off once last week, contradicting parents’ claims.

Mrs McCartney-Russell said the school’s water pump had long-standing issues and assured that efforts are underway to replace it soon.

Regarding staff shortages, she said only “one or two” teaching positions remain unfilled, but interviews were conducted last week and efforts are ongoing to address the gaps.

Nonetheless, the situation has reignited concerns about the state of school preparedness.

Last week, Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) president Belinda Wilson warned widespread delays and inefficiencies have left both teachers and students unprepared for the new school year.

Her concerns followed strike action taken by Bahamas Education Managerial Union (BEMU) in protest of unresolved disputes over allowances, promotions, and transfers. 

Government officials have since said they are working to fill vacant principal and senior administrator positions in several schools.

But parents argue the issues should have been addressed before the reopening and say they are tired of “empty talk”.

Meanwhile, some have linked staff shortages on the Family Islands to the lack of affordable housing in those communities. However, officials have not confirmed this.

On Eleuthera, some parents told The Tribune they felt “neglected”.

Others described the school problems as a legacy issue that successive administrations have failed to resolve.

“It doesn’t make sense, but it’s nothing strange. We went through this last year. There’s nowhere to lay blame here,” said Joshua Higgs, a parent in Spanish Wells.

Meanwhile, Leranda Johnson, former vice president of the Laura L Anderson Primary PTA, said schools in North Eleuthera opened with challenges including staff shortages, inadequate lighting and security fences, unclean facilities, electrical problems, no classroom fans, limited cleaning supplies, insufficient janitorial staff, and no principal.

However, The Tribune understands the janitorial shortage has been resolved, with cleaning supplies recently delivered to Eleuthera to be shared across schools on the island.

Still, Mrs Johnson said some of these problems persisted from last year and remain unresolved, despite Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin’s public assurance that schools were ready for reopening.

Mrs Johnson questioned why contractors were still removing junk and debris from campuses last week if schools were truly prepared.

She also stressed parents and staff shouldn’t have to appeal for basic items like bleach and tissue, and the ministry should have ensured schools were properly stocked.

“Communication from staff and leadership is poor, the attitudes are unpleasant and discouraging with basic questions left unanswered and parents made to feel dismissed,” she said. “Where is the diplomacy and mutual respect in our schools these days? As a mother and strong supporter of the school, I am at my wit’s end with the empty promises and lack of accountability.”

She said parents are scheduled to meet with the minister via Zoom today and added she remains optimistic but skeptical because “we know how politics work”.

She said parents are tired of empty talk but want action.

“We are nauseous of the pageantry meant to pacify us and insult our intelligence, while we are once again sent on a wild goose chase,” she said. “We find ourselves caught between wanting better conditions for teachers, staff, and especially students, and fearing the consequences of victimisation that might fall on our children.”

In Spanish Wells, parents reported facing similar challenges at the start of the school year, though some have since been resolved.

Mr Higgs, who is also the vice president of the Samuel Guy Pinder All-Age PTA, said the school initially opened without a principal and lacked teachers for certain grades.

However, he noted most of the issues have now been addressed, with teachers transferred to fill the gaps and a senior mistress stepping in to provide leadership.

“So far, everything’s come to pass. I don’t think there’s an exact timeline for a principal, but the minister herself is dealing with that so we can’t ask for much more than that,” he said.

He acknowledged the need for reform in the education sector and linked some of the ongoing staff shortages to insufficient rental assistance.

He said a highly qualified teacher left the island due to low rental allowances, adding rental support for teachers is limited and housing costs on the island remain high.

“It’s a ministry-wide issue but I think they’re working on doing better with all of that,” he said.