~MP later confirms Charlotte Brookson Academy’s current subsidy has not been cut, but raises concern over potential change for the next school year>
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Charlotte Brookson Academy for the Performing Arts (CBA) has not had its current Government subsidy cut, MP Ardwell Irion later clarified during Thursday’s parliamentary proceedings, but uncertainty now surrounds the school’s financing for the next school year amid indications that its subsidy could potentially be discontinued.
Irion initially raised the issue during notifications at the opening of Parliament’s public debate on the 2026 National Budget.
The MP told Parliament he had received information from staff indicating that Government planned to end the school’s subsidy, and that staff had not received official communication on the matter. He called on the Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Melissa Gumbs, to provide clarity during the budget debate.
However, Irion later clarified that CBA’s subsidy has not been cut for the current school year.
The concern, rather, is over a potential subsidy cut for the next school year.
That distinction is critical.
There should therefore be no suggestion that CBA has already lost its Government financing or that its present operations have been stripped of their subsidy.
Question Now Shifts to CBA’s Future
The issue before Parliament is instead whether Government intends to continue subsidizing CBA beyond the current school year and, if changes are being contemplated, what those changes would mean for the school, its students and employees.
CBA is a Government-subsidized educational institution and has previously acknowledged that its operations are subject to the requirements governing subsidized education.
Irion’s intervention therefore raises questions that ECYS Minister Melissa Gumbs will be expected to address as Parliament scrutinizes her Ministry’s spending plans.
If Government is considering ending or changing CBA’s subsidy for the next school year, Parliament should establish why the change is being contemplated, what financial or policy considerations are driving it, when a final decision will be made and when the school’s board, employees and parents will be formally informed.
There is also the larger question of what would happen to students if Government support were withdrawn.
No Final Cut Established
Based on the information currently available to SMN News, a subsidy cut for CBA should not be reported as a final Government decision.
What has been established is that Irion raised concerns in Parliament about CBA’s subsidy, subsequently clarified that the current subsidy has not been cut, and indicated that the concern relates to what could potentially happen next school year.
The original parliamentary transcript itself records Irion saying he “understood” from staff that Government was planning to end the subsidy and asking Minister Gumbs to clarify the situation. It did not establish that a termination decision had already been taken.
That makes the Minister’s eventual answer even more important.
With the current subsidy intact, the immediate question is no longer whether CBA has lost its funding.
The question is whether Charlotte Brookson Academy will continue receiving Government subsidy next school year—and, if not, what Government intends to do about the students and staff who depend on the school.
