~Minister Melissa Gumbs’ ministry says seven public schools receive an average of roughly Cg. 44,000 each for maintenance, while major repair needs remain unresolved.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport has acknowledged that the Cg. 310,000 allocated in the 2026 Budget for maintenance and repairs across Sint Maarten’s seven public schools is not enough to clear the accumulated repair backlog or establish the preventive maintenance system Government says it wants.
The admission is contained in ECYS responses to Parliament during scrutiny of the 2026 National Budget.
Asked directly whether the maintenance allocation was sufficient to shift public schools from reactive repairs to structured maintenance, the Ministry answered: “No.”
According to ECYS, the Cg. 310,000 works out to an average of approximately Cg. 44,000 per public school and is only sufficient for selected routine, urgent and corrective works.
The Ministry states plainly that the amount cannot eliminate the accumulated maintenance backlog or fully establish a comprehensive preventive-maintenance programme.
That admission is particularly significant against months of public concern over leaking roofs, plumbing, sanitation, air-conditioning, dampness and other school-condition problems.
Money Split Across Seven Schools
The Ordinary Service allocation is distributed as follows:
- Oranje School — Cg. 65,000
- Marie Genevieve de Weever School — Cg. 60,000
- St. Maarten Vocational Training School — Cg. 50,000
- Leonald Conner School — Cg. 35,000
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School — Cg. 35,000
- Ruby Labega Primary School — Cg. 35,000
- Prins Willem Alexander School — Cg. 30,000.
The money must cover recurring maintenance such as plumbing repairs, electrical repairs, air-conditioning servicing, drainage clearing, minor roof leaks, sanitation, pest control, painting, doors, locks and general grounds upkeep.
Yet the same budget response acknowledges that the allocation cannot absorb major structural repairs, full roof replacements, extensive electrical upgrades, reconstruction or comprehensive rehabilitation.
Government Still Does Not Know Full Repair Bill
Perhaps even more striking, ECYS says it cannot yet quantify the full maintenance shortfall.
The Ministry is procuring a Structural Condition Assessment and Prioritized Repair Plan for all seven public-school sites. That exercise is supposed to establish a verified school-by-school baseline, identify repair needs, estimate costs and rank projects by urgency.
A separate public tender is being advanced for preventive maintenance.
Until both initiatives are completed, the Ministry says it will continue using the Cg. 310,000 for the most urgent health, safety and operational problems.
That means Government is entering the 2026-2027 school year without a final price tag for the full public-school maintenance backlog.
The budget therefore confirms what parents, teachers and MPs have repeatedly complained about: Government knows the school system has accumulated deficiencies but has not yet completed the assessment needed to say what it will cost to fix them all.
