2 million in cuts to school budgets, its treasurer said.

But Education Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons said the cuts were needed in today's economy and "the basic school curriculum will remain intact.'' Mr. John Thorne said he did not understand why Government would cut education funding while spending tens of millions on a new prison and the Tynes Bay incinerator.

"We don't feel any cuts whatsoever are acceptable,'' he said. The National PTA, which has representation from 12 Parent-Teacher Associations around the Island, wants to draw a large crowd to a meeting at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Peace Lutheran Church in Paget.

"With the election coming up, Government is going to be willing to listen,'' Mr. Thorne told The Royal Gazette . "If the National PTA has a meeting on Monday, and we unanimously agree that we will not accept those cuts, and we are willing to march to the House of Parliament, we'll do that.

"And I'm sure if we did something like that, the Government would listen and make some changes.'' The cuts, which amount to 4.7 percent of the 1991-92 Education Ministry budget, include about 25 teaching jobs, teachers' pay for overseas conferences and extracurricular activities, a 50 percent cut in the budget for school textbooks, and a suspension of summer school.

The job cuts are to be made through attrition.

Mr. Simons, who returned to the Island on Friday after a week abroad, said "all ministers are unhappy about cuts in their respective budgets,'' but "I see them as a short-term measure.'' "We are obliged to do the best we can within these economic restraints,'' he said. "The basic school curriculum will remain intact.'' The large capital projects Mr. Thorne mentioned are already under way and would be more costly to stop than to complete, Mr. Simons said.

While Permanent Secretary for Education Dr. Marion Robinson has said lower enrolment has led to "fat in our staffing allocations,'' Mr. Thorne said teachers he has spoken to said they need more help.

And "with the recession, certain students are maybe not getting the attention from their parents that they should,'' he said.

Elimination of summer school worried Mr. Thorne, who noted Bermudian students tend to fall behind the level of students in the US between primary and secondary school.

Extracurricular activities are also important, and "I don't think (teachers) should have to do it on a volunteer basis,'' he said.