CBA staff demand answers from board over pension deductions not remitted to APS

GREAT BAY--A group of affected staff members of the Charlotte Brookson Academy for the Performing Arts, CBA, is calling for urgent transparency from the school’s Board of Directors over pension deductions that they say have been withheld from employee salaries but not remitted to the Algemeen Pensioenfonds Sint Maarten, APS.

The staff members said CBA employees have not been properly registered with APS, despite local requirements for employees to be registered into the national pension fund to secure their retirement. The staff said the issue has remained unresolved for more than seven years, despite repeated requests for clarity from the Board.

According to the staff, concerns about pension contributions, financial management and APS registration have been raised since 2019 in staff meetings, meetings with the CBA Board, employee evaluations and through written communication from the Windward Islands Teachers Union, WITU.

The staff said the situation became more serious over the past two years, when the employee portion of pension payments was allegedly deducted directly from salaries, but not paid over to APS.

“This leaves one to assume that hard-working employees are not only being denied their rightful retirement security, but their earned wages are being deducted under false pretenses,” the letter stated.

In their latest effort to obtain answers, 16 staff members signed a formal letter dated May 25, 2026, to the CBA Board requesting a complete breakdown of all pension deductions withheld from their salaries from the start of the deductions to the present date.

They also requested written confirmation that the withheld funds remain unused and available in the school’s account, written confirmation that the Board’s required matching contributions are being withheld, and information about an initial lump-sum payment reportedly requested by APS before employees can be officially registered.

The staff said they specifically asked for the amount requested by APS, the date of the request and the reason the financial obligation was not met by the CBA Board.

According to the letter, the Board was given a reasonable deadline to respond. On June 3, 2026, the stated deadline, Board President May-Ling Chun-Derby reportedly replied briefly that the Board’s lawyer was handling the matter and that a response letter would be sent.

The staff rejected that response as insufficient, calling it another delay in a matter involving employee rights and funds deducted from salaries.

“Deferring to legal counsel is yet another stalling tactic,” the staff wrote. “The CBA Board must provide absolute financial transparency and immediately account for the withheld funds that belong to staff.”

The employees said the matter is not a minor administrative issue, but one involving fundamental employee rights, trust and financial accountability. They said workers have a right to know that deductions taken from their salaries are properly managed and secure.

The staff said the uncertainty has caused anxiety, mistrust and financial hardship for those affected. They also stressed that the issue extends beyond CBA, touching wider national concerns about governance, public trust and accountability in institutions that receive public support.

“At a time when citizens demand greater transparency from public bodies and organizations that receive public support, educational institutions should be leading by example, not becoming subjects of controversy,” the letter stated.

The staff said they are not seeking special treatment, but accountability, respect and confirmation that the Board is fulfilling its responsibilities to employees and students.

They also pushed back against any suggestion that staff members had failed to raise the issue earlier, saying they have been “sounding the alarm” for nearly a decade through documented efforts by staff and WITU representatives.

“The employees of CBA have demonstrated unimaginable patience,” the letter stated. “We have continued our diligent work despite the cloud of uncertainty hanging over our futures. However, our patience should not be mistaken for acceptance, nor should professionalism be mistaken for weakness.”

The affected staff members are now appealing to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, MECYS, the Minister of Labor, the wider Government of St. Maarten and any public or legal authority able to assist.

They said that when public funds and employee salary deductions cannot be properly accounted for, the matter ceases to be a private dispute and becomes an issue of public integrity and governance.

“The time for excuses has passed,” the staff stated. “The time for transparency, accountability, and independent verification is now.”

𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳'𝘴 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴' 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘉𝘈'𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦.

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