Saba’s Executive Council sent a letter to Roman Catholic Bishop Luis Secco on Monday to outline several reforms needed to improve education at Sacred Heart School (SHS), the island’s only primary school, which has been caught up in scandal for al­most a year.

The Executive Council’s letter comes six days after SHS’ school board — Foundation for Catholic Education in Saba SKOS — re­ceived a formal instruction from Dutch State Secretary of Primary and Secondary Education Mari­ëlle Paul. An instruction is the most serious legal measure that can be used by a cabinet member. Paul’s instruction charges SKOS to draft a plan to strengthen the school board within four weeks. It also calls on the board to ap­point three new members within four months, “visibly” seek sup­port from advisors, and ensure that SKOS’ articles of association are in line “with current legisla­tion and regulations.”

Paul referenced an inspection report in a letter that explained the instruction to the Dutch Sec­ond Chamber of Parliament. Ac­cording to Paul, the report issued in August found gross misman­agement at SHS, which consisted of “both serious or prolonged failure to take measures that are necessary to guarantee the qual­ity and proper progress of educa­tion, as well as financial misman­agement.”

On Monday, the Executive Council called on the Dio­cese of Willemstad to give up “direct influence” over SHS and take on an “advi­sory role.” This, the Council said, would still allow the church to guide the school in “maintaining its Catholic identity and principles.”

The Executive Council called on the church to closely adhere to Paul’s in­struction, warning that fail­ure to do so could lead the Dutch government to take away the school’s funding and this would put children “at an even larger risk.”

The Council spoke about implementing a “two-tier model” for the school board and noted that the current board, “with the director in a dual role, is not in ac­cordance with the current statutes.”

The Council’s letter also criticises the church over its “unfulfilled promises” to support the ailing institu­tion and contains a veiled threat that Saba residents are preparing a petition to establish a new public school.

In a press statement on Monday, the Executive Council said: “The Dio­cese has indicated a desire to have final approval over who joins the SHS board and retains authority to dis­miss board members, yet it has not committed to any tangible support. This situa­tion requires careful consid­eration to ensure that the school’s leadership remains strong, accountable, and dedicated to SHS’ mission and the needs of the Saba community. This is the main reason that a letter will be sent out to the Diocese in Curacao.”

SHS’ financial woes came to light at the end of last year, when a number of school staff were laid off just before Christmas.

Anton Hermans — Execu­tive Director for both SKOS and Saba Educational Foun­dation (SEF), which runs the island’s only secondary school — suddenly resigned about a month after the lay­offs, around the same time that the Dutch government stepped in to “closely moni­tor the financial situation” at SHS in 2024.

The entire SKOS and SEF boards followed Hermans and tendered their resigna­tions three months later, which came after they had a confidential meeting with four education inspectors on April 15. The inspectors have issued several reports in the following months which show that the previ­ous board had mismanaged the school’s finances and that there has been a sharp decline in educational qual­ity.

The Daily Herald.