The parents of two children at East End Primary have launched a campaign to save the school from the threat of closure.

The move, by Jamel and Aisha Mello, is being backed by the parent teacher association and is a pre-emptive strike against the rumoured closure of the St George’s school as part of planned budget cuts in education.

Government said it had not made any firm decisions on closures or consolidations yet, but an e-mail has been circulating that suggests East End Primary may be in the firing line.

Parents believe that the small size of the school makes it an obvious target.

East End Primary has 73 students enrolled — the smallest of all of Bermuda’s primary schools — with just 66 projected for the year ahead.

The parents launched a petition against any closure of the school, which will be circulated on a new Facebook page, Save Our Schools Bermuda.

They also organised two meetings — one last week and one this week, to discuss ways in which a closure could be avoided.

Mr Mello told The Royal Gazette: “We didn’t want to jump the gun but it seems like the bull’s eye is squarely on East End Primary.

“It is a small school, which is one of the reasons we fell in love with it. We felt that our children would get undivided attention.

“There are no statistics to show that consolidations of schools will work. There is no proof it is the best or worst way to go.

“Consolidation seems like a Band-Aid for a brief problem and it may have short-term success but in the long run I think it is really going to hurt the community of St George’s.

“That school is loved and revered. It is one of the oldest schools on the Island.

“It’s also the only school in the east that is wheelchair accessible, so there could even be a human rights issue.”

Mr Mello and his wife said about 50 to 60 people attended each meeting, including Shadow Education Minister Lovitta Foggo and Harry Matthie, chairman of the Bermuda Parents Teachers Students Association (BPTSA).

During discussions, attendees floated the idea to merge the school with St George’s Preschool.

“We talked about consolidation of the St George’s Preschool into East End Primary because it is a one stream school — consolidation of those schools would help lessen the budget,” Mr Mello said.

“It could also work in St David’s with St David’s Preschool and St David’s Primary. There is more than enough property and building to allow a small preschool to be on the same grounds.”

A meeting was organised by Government last month at CedarBridge Academy to gather feedback from stakeholders and to present figures showing the reasons for consideration of closure and consolidation of primary and preschools.

The Ministry of Education was tasked by Government to cut its budget by $5.9 million, with $1 million being sought through closure and/or consolidation. Stakeholders were given until today to come up with ideas for cost saving.

“Until we get back facts and answers from the Ministry we are stuck,” Mr Mello said. “But I would say let’s not put dollar signs on our children — on our education.

“The budget gets cut every year and what will be the result? More children ending up in Westgate?”

An e-mail campaign is also set to be launched to try to convince Government to reconsider any proposed closure of East End Primary.