“Donations are welcome, but follow the Rules”: Gumbs challenges school donation narrative

GREAT BAY--“𝘔𝘳. 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨."

With that nugget, Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Melissa Gumbs has pushed back against criticism surrounding the Ministry’s policy on donations to public schools, making clear that private citizens and Members of Parliament are not prohibited from supporting schools, but that all donations and contributions must follow a proper procedure.

The Minister addressed the issue during the 2026 Budget Debate following questions and criticism regarding the requirement for persons, including MPs, to coordinate donations with the Ministry before they are provided to public schools.

Gumbs said the policy has never been about preventing assistance to schools, but about ensuring that donations are properly coordinated, aligned with actual needs and handled in an accountable manner.

“Mr. Chairman, much like our teachers who have to patiently repeat everything to children developing their listening comprehension skills, I don’t mind repeating the following: it is not that private citizens, including MPs, are not allowed to make donations to public schools,” Gumbs stated.

“I’ve never said ‘it’s my school, so yea;’ for that type of attitude, I suggest the good MP checks with my predecessor, who was in his party at the time. What I have said, is that donations and contributions to public schools must follow a procedure.”

The Minister said she has repeated this position several times in Parliament and through the media, emphasizing that the Ministry has welcomed cooperation with private organizations and individuals.

She pointed to collaborations over the past year and a half with organizations including Rotary International, the Rise Foundation, Lions Club, Flow, Telem, Kooyman, Sea Grapes International and other private citizens as examples of successful partnerships.

Gumbs noted that these collaborations demonstrate that the Ministry is open to outside support when it is properly coordinated.

“Today though, I have not received a donation or collaboration request from the good MP or the rest of his colleagues, with the exception of MPs York, Roseburg, and Peterson and my own colleagues in the Council of Ministers,” she said.

The Minister encouraged Members of Parliament and other potential donors who wish to assist public schools to submit their requests through the proper channels.

“For the future, my email address is melissa.gumbs@sintmaartengov.org, so I look forward to receiving these donation requests that the MP is so passionate about making,” Gumbs stated.

She also offered to provide Members of Parliament with information on pending works and needs across public schools, allowing assistance to be directed toward areas where support is most urgently required.

“Additionally, we can provide him and the other members of Parliament with the amounts of pending works across all public schools, if that would make it easier,” the Minister said.

The discussion on donations followed concerns raised about the condition of some school facilities and the role that private partners can play in supporting improvements.

Gumbs has maintained that the Ministry welcomes collaboration, but that a structured process is necessary to ensure transparency, accountability and that interventions support broader school improvement priorities.

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