A reduction of staffing levels at schools and within the civil service cannot be ruled out as efficiencies are sought within the Department of Education.

This is according to education Minister Wayne Scott who said he was confident any such reductions could be made through natural attrition.

He also highlighted that there could be further review of the public middle schools once work is under way with the primary schools.

During an interview with The Royal Gazette in light of the damning school reorganisation (Score) report, Mr Scott said the Ministry had begun making headway with overdue repairs to buildings that have contributed to a raft of health and safety issues across Bermuda’s public primary schools.

The Score report was designed to set out plans for “improving the quality and consistency of programming across primary schools” with the additional goal of “achieving cost savings and efficiency” and outlined several scenarios including the possible closure of three schools.

The report did not include information regarding job losses nor did it take into account teacher performance or student achievement.

Speaking on the possible reduction of the workforce across the ministry, Mr Scott said that close to $1 million had already been saved through early retirement.

He added: “All along I have said even if we get to the point of closure or consolidation, I believe it would be possible to do that without any job losses [layoffs]. We will have to look at things but if there are any reductions necessary we would try to do that through natural attrition.

“We are looking at the entire process and again we recognise we have to put together a full strategic plan that addresses all the issues.

“I cannot forecast anything without the information in front of me.”

Mr Scott cited curriculum changes over the years as one reason that teacher performance was not factored into the Score report.

“Teacher performance, we know, is a very important part of ensuring that you have quality in the classroom. Now that we have had a stable curriculum for five or six years with the Cambridge Curriculum, we have focused a lot on professional development.

“Yes, now we do need to focus on ensuring that all of that reaches the child and my view is that everything that we do, the public should be aware of.”

Asked whether there would be another report on teacher performance, he said: “I don’t have that etched in stone.”

Speaking on the possibility of closure or consolidation within the middle school system, Mr Scott added: “The thought right now is we are addressing what is in front of us but we are not closing the door on continuing to look at that. You can’t fix all of your issues with the press of one button. Over the last couple of years we have done a lot of work in the middle schools in ensuring that we are improving the quality of what we offer. The Middle School Transformation Plan is going on and that will continue. The focus is primary schools and then we go from there.”

The Score report calls for a radical overhaul of the primary school education system due to deficiencies found in several areas including school funding, safety and accessibility, building condition and special needs programming.

Mr Scott said creating equality in standards throughout Bermuda’s primary schools was his top priority along with addressing the state of many school buildings.

“You have schools that are extraordinarily popular because they have a full range of programming and support.

“Everybody pays the same taxes. Is it fair that just those children have access to everything and others have limited programming?

“My primary objective is that we have programming equity across the board.

“Health and safety is also a primary concern. We have addressed some of these items already and will continue to do that as a priority.”

Mr Scott said it was of utmost importance that the public make their voices heard during continued consultation due to begin next week. He said that none of the scenarios, including the closure of St David’s Primary School, Heron Bay Primary School, Prospect Primary School and Gilbert Institute, were set in stone and he was open to hearing alternative scenarios.

While Mr Scott commissioned the report, he has only been in the position of education minister for just over a year. Asked whether he felt he had been handed a poisoned chalice, he replied: “I don’t take this personally. I got involved in politics because I want to help make a difference in my country and I take that responsibility to heart. I will do my best while I am here to make decisions that benefit first and foremost our children. I am not making decisions to try to make sure everybody likes me or to play politics with it. This goes beyond me, it goes beyond political parties — this is a Bermuda issue and Bermuda has my commitment.”