Teachers yesterday demanded that interim education board chairman Philip Butterfield be fired or resign, declaring they had a "total lack of confidence" in his ability to lead the reform of public schools.

Their call came two days after Bank of Bermuda CEO Mr. Butterfield launched a personal attack on Bermuda Union of Teachers general secretary Mike Charles, calling him a "gym teacher" who'd had his 15 minutes of fame.

BUT president Keisha Douglas told a lunchtime press conference that the remark and other comments made by Mr. Butterfield to the parliamentary Joint Select Committee on Education on Tuesday displayed a "clear disrespect for teachers and the important role they play in our children's lives".

She said: "The Bermuda Union of Teachers demands the immediate resignation or removal of Mr. Philip Butterfield as chairman of the interim board of education."

A Bank of Bermuda spokeswoman said Mr. Butterfield would not be commenting on the BUT's demand. Education Minister El James did not respond to a request for comment.

Former Education Minister Randy Horton, himself once a gym and mathematics teacher, told The Royal Gazette he found Mr. Butterfield's comments "unfortunate".

"It's never necessary to denigrate anybody," said Mr. Horton, who was sacked as Education Minister earlier this month.

"This absolutely denigrated Mr. Charles and it denigrated any other teacher and especially physical education teachers who are absolutely important to a whole education.

"Every single teacher is important. Everybody in the system is important."

Ms Douglas told the press conference that Mr. Butterfield's remarks had prompted the union to cancel a meeting yesterday afternoon with the interim board, which was appointed to implement the recommendations in last year's Hopkins Report on failing public schools.

She said comments he made about teachers needing to accept the employer/employee relationship and for it to be clear who was in charge, highlighted his "archaic, top-down approach to managing".

She said: "How we operate as an education system is totally different from how it's operated in the business sector. We have policies and procedures. The top-down management has gone out of the door.

"That's not how we work. We are the teachers of the system. We will help the reform along because we are the ones who will make it work. We have to sit at the table."

Ms Douglas added: "As teachers we have come to the reality that there is a total lack of confidence in Mr. Butterfield's ability to guide successfully the reform process. This lack of confidence is also based on the apparent lack of progress in the reform."

She said the union held a very productive four-hour meeting recently with Mr. James and was committed to moving the reform process forward. "Our concern is to better the system," she said.

Mr. Charles told the media he was not sure why Mr. Butterfield, brother of Premier Ewart Brown, personally attacked him. "Maybe the question should be put to the chairman himself," he said.

US education expert Henry Johnson, the Island's consultant executive officer for schools and acting education commissioner, said on Wednesday he wished the squabbling over reform would stop.

• Do you think Mr. Butterfield should be sacked? E-mail news@royalgazette.bm with your views.