Education Minister Dame Jennifer Smith has revealed the extent of teaching cuts, saying a total of 97 staff have been axed from Bermuda’s public schools.Dame Jennifer told the House of Assembly today that the job losses included 30 para-professionals on one-year contracts, 12 unqualified and unregistered staff, and nine Bermudian teachers on temporary assignments or one-year contracts.A total of 20 posts have also been eliminated at The Berkeley Institute and 26 posts at CedarBridge Academy.Staff were told by June 1 that their contracts would not be renewed with Dame Jennifer saying: “The decisions taken in Education should not have come as a surprise they were signaled in March.”Dame Jennifer insisted that “classrooms will not be left bereft” as preschools, primary, middle and senior schools had good teacher student ratios.In her ministerial statement, Dame Jennifer said: “The education of our children is serious business and ensuring that the public maintains and gains confidence in our public system is equally important.“We remain unequivocal in our commitment to improving Bermuda’s educational system. The decisions we are making are to facilitate teaching and learning.“Yes, we can do more with less the people in Education demonstrate this every day.”