Freeport, Grand Bahamas-Members of the Walter Parker Primary School Board emerged on Saturday from a two-hour meeting with Minister of Education Desmond Bannister disappointed, after learning that principal Barbara Thompson’s redeployment to Freeport Primary School would still occur, despite their arguments that the ministry should have consulted them first.
On Friday morning, parents of students attending Walter Parker Primary staged a demonstration outside of the ministry’s offices in the International Building, protesting Thompson’s transfer. The ministry, they said, was bound by law to notify, and consult with the school board before any such appointment was made.
Minister Bannister told members of the media following Saturday’s meeting that he did not agree with the members of the board on that point, although he did acknowledge that a good relationship between the ministry and school boards was essential to the effective operation of the schools.
School Board President Godfrey Pinder said the board was not satisfied with the outcome of Saturday’s meeting. Since it has been determined that the transfers will go on, members of the board intend to continue agitating until there is some resolution to their concerns, he added.
