Gerald Simons retreated a step yesterday on $2.2 million in planned school cuts.

"We don't know if some of the cuts are achievable,'' Mr. Simons said at a news conference.

"If, after examining the situation closely, it has been determined that these cuts cannot be made without severely impacting on the quality of education in Government schools, I can assure you that I will consult my colleagues in Government with a view to finding other ways to respond to our economic situation,'' he said.

Staffing levels in the Ministry of Education's central office -- not a target in the recently-announced cuts -- will be reviewed "to make sure that the Department of Education is not top-heavy'', Mr. Simons said.

Any savings found in that area would be used to soften the earlier announced cuts. Summer school is near the top of the list of programmes which could be restored, he said.

But critics were not satisfied, and they blasted the Minister's announcement.

"He hasn't retreated,'' said Mr. Milton Scott, organiser and chief executive officer of the 700-member Amalgamated Bermuda Union of Teachers. "What he's trying to do is appease the public and eliminate some of the concern.'' The ABUT and the Bermuda National PTA have vowed to fight the cuts, which include 25 teaching jobs, summer school, 50 percent of the textbook budget, teachers' pay for extracurricular activities and overseas conferences, and budgets for special purchases like trophies at maintained schools.

The cuts amount to 4.7 percent of the Ministry's $46-million budget.

Yesterday, Mr. Simons said he was not at odds with the ABUT and the PTA on the central issue. "I have always been committed to quality education for Bermudians,'' he said.

And he defended the cuts as necessary during the recession, noting that Government revenues were down by $32 million.

"All Government departments have been asked to respond to the economic reality,'' he said.

But the cuts, which he described as "temporary measures,'' have not been finalised, and likely will not be for about two months, he said. "We are working very hard to ensure that when these measures are implemented, they will not adversely affect the education of our children.'' More than 90 percent of the Ministry's budget is personnel costs, and Mr.

Simons said teaching jobs could be eliminated through attrition without violating the official ratio of one teacher for every 25 students.

About a dozen job cuts were identified so far, he said. "I will personally review each and every staff cut to make sure that all schools in the Government system have adequate personnel.'' Summer school was introduced "during times of plenty,'' Mr. Simons said. But when he met on Tuesday with school principals, "I was very impressed by their concern for summer school programmes,'' he said.

"We'll have to continue to look very closely at that. Of all the programmes to be restored, that would be one of the programmes to be restored first.'' The Minister's announcement did not quell a growing challenge to the cuts from several fronts.

Mrs. Marian Askia, president of the Bermuda National PTA, said: "It's really convenient that all of a sudden now the Minister is saying, `We're not really going to hurt the kids,' because the parents are starting to be up in arms about it.'' The PTA is meeting with Mr. Simons today and will tell him: "When it comes to sacrificing our kids' education, we're not going to stand for it,'' she said.

At the ABUT, Mr. Scott said Mr. Simon's news conference was a waste of time.

"These cuts are a disaster and have the potential to really have a detrimental impact,'' he said.

He also said some of the cuts breach the teachers' collective agreement, which he said guarantees four annual sabbaticals and honoraria for extracurricular supervision. The union will file a grievance over that issue, he said.

Shadow Education Minister Ms Jennifer Smith greeted the Minister's statement with disbelief. She was particularly critical of Mr. Simons' statement that the impact of the cuts were still being examined.

"One would have thought that the Minister would have examined the situation closely prior to announcing the cuts,'' Ms Smith said. "That was the most shocking thing in the entire statement.'' Mrs. Askia, Mr. Scott, and Ms Smith all said they were pleased there will be an attempt to cut fat in the Ministry's central office. "That should have been the first move,'' Ms Smith said.

The Hon. Gerald Simons.