With the end of summer comes the beginning of a new school year. Every year it comes just the same but every year it is a little different.

On Grand Cayman there are some welcome changes.

The brand new Clifton Hunter High School at Frank Sound will be opening its doors on Monday 3^rd September.

I understand there will be no ribbon cutting or special ceremony which is unusual except, of course, the Clifton Hunter High School was the brain child of MLA and leader of the opposition, Alden McLaughlin, who was Minister of Education in the previous PPM Government. He would have had to be invited.

The school is a facility that has cost upwards of $100M and has been the subject of many attacks by the governing UDP party, especially by the premier, Mckeeva Bush. Bush has particularly blamed the school project as the principal factor in causing the country’s budget crisis and having to give financial control to the UK.

In the original PPM budget the Clifton Hunter High School along with another high school were going to be built for under $110M for BOTH. How it is possible to be so far off from the original estimates is quite beyond me and I am a qualified Quantity Surveyor.

In a recent report from the Auditor General he was scathing at the PPM’s budgetary control or lack of same.

The second building was discontinued as soon as the UDP government came to power that included disputes with the building contractor.

It is also going to cost the country a considerable amount of money to run the facility with a figure quoted in one media house as being as high as $167,000 per month. Busing pupils will cost government $800,000 per year.

However, it should be a state of the art facility and it is a shame there will be no “fanfare”. Much has been given for far less. I hope the government changes its mind and if they do, there will be no snub to Mr. McLaughlin.

At least we can say, though it cost a lot of money including much that was unnecessary, we can see some blocks and mortar to show for it. Unfortunately that cannot be said for the numerous projects the present UDP have announced over the last three years with much fanfare.  There has been much fruitless spending on absolutely nothing, to deal with broken contracts to head off legal proceedings that uncomfortable disclosures would be exposed to the public.