As ministry and union officials work towards a solution to the hostile situation at Maurice Moore Primary, they say an end is in sight.
For a year and a half, that school and its 30-plus teachers have undergone a whirlwind of turmoil, which has muddied that institution’s reputation and escalated to an incisive split between the teachers in support of the principal and the vice principal.
Three teachers spoke out against Principal Sheila Scavella last week, claiming victimization and wanted her gone.
One of the teachers, whose pay was coded, called the ministry’s action into question.
Several other teachers then spoke up, contending the teachers were telling half truths and they wanted to set the record straight.
The situation narrowly turned physical last Wednesday, according to one teacher who warned Thursday that “blood will be shed” if something is not done soon.
Wesley Dorsett, an assistant shop steward with the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) and administration assistant at the school, declared last week that the teachers wanted those three teachers who were in support of Vice Principal Mildred Roberts and the other “detractors” gone.
Then, he warned the ministry, that if Principal Scavella was removed, “all hell would break loose at Maurice Moore.”
The Freeport News was unable to reach Permanent Secretary Cresswell Sturrup yesterday for comment, however, Sandra Edgecombe, Superinten-dent for the Freeport District in the Ministry of Education, told The Freeport News the matter was being addressed “as we speak.
“We’re continuing to work with the principal and the vice principal and all the teachers concerned in the whole affair of Maurice Moore,” she said.
The ministry wants to make the children as comfortable as possible without causing too much disruption as they are presently undergoing exams, Mrs. Edgecombe added.
“The process is being worked out and so by the end of this term we should have things ready to go in January of the new year so that all the parties concerned will be able to get off to a good start in the new year.”
BUT Area Vice President Rudy Sands said he has had daily contact with Super-intendent Edgecombe and the initial idea was to use a senior person from the ministry in the interim to oversee the school until a settlement was reached.
But while they are working on the solution, Mr. Sands say they still have to put the pieces to the puzzle together.
By LEDEDRA MARCHE, Senior Freeport News Reporter
