The Government paid CI$6.5 million for a West Bay school site that two of its three valuations put at CI$5 million or less. The Ministry of Education and Training says the purchase represented value for money, citing recent construction projects and the speed with which the site provided additional school places.

The sellers had asked CI$7 million, the Ministry told The Caymanian Journal (TCJ) in writing, in answers on 19 October to a 33-question request first put to it on 16 September, and in answers to a further set of questions on 21 October. The Ministry said it negotiated the price down from that figure.

The Government paid CI$6.5 million in July for the former Kiddiewinks preschool site, which it announced on 21 August as the new home of four reception classes and two autism-specific classrooms for Sir John A. Cumber Primary School. The preschool, at 61 Birch Tree Hill, is less than half a kilometre in a straight line from the main campus at 44 Fountain Road, the addresses given for both on the Ministry's register of educational institutions, and about a 10-minute walk by road. The Lands and Survey Department obtained three independent valuations before the price was agreed. JEC Property Consultants, on 2 February 2026, put the site at CI$6,895,000. DDL Studio, on 4 February 2026, put it at CI$4,859,000. BCQS International Property and Development Consultants, on 2 April 2026, put it at CI$5,000,000. The Government paid CI$1.5 million more than the BCQS valuation and CI$1.64 million more than the DDL valuation, and CI$395,000 less than the JEC valuation.

Asked which valuation was the basis for negotiation and why the price settled above two of the three, the Ministry said on 21 October that "Lands and Survey considered all three independent valuations". It said the sellers had asked for CI$7 million. "As is the case CIG tries to make all acquisitions as low as possible," the Ministry said. "Recognising that valuations will differ, we approached the negotiations with a view that given recent construction projects undertaken by the Ministry and the cost estimates for projects presently being researched we believe we have achieved good value-for-money with this acquisition."

The Ministry cited recent construction projects and cost estimates for other projects, but did not say how it reconciled the three valuations in agreeing the price. By TCJ's calculation, the CI$1.5 million paid above the April valuation equals about two years of the additional staffing the Ministry says the site needs, which it costs at CI$755,000 a year.

What the price was measured against

The Ministry said on 19 October that it looked at building new classrooms on or beside the existing campus, but that the "cost for new build was not yet determined" when it chose to buy. Its judgement that the purchase represented value for money rests, in its words, on "recent construction projects undertaken by the Ministry and the cost estimates for projects presently being researched", not on a costed alternative for this site. The Ministry said no other sites were considered and that the purchase was negotiated rather than advertised.

The Ministry said purchases of this nature "only required the approval of Cabinet", with the funding approved by Finance Committee under the supplementary appropriation described below, and were exempt from the Procurement Act, citing section 3(1)(e) of the Procurement Act (2023 Revision). That section provides that the Act does not apply to the "acquisition or disposition of land or any immovable property or rights in relation thereto". Section 3(2) of the same Act requires an entity procuring outside the Act to ensure value for money in accordance with section 4 and Schedule 1, which assesses value by cost, quality and sustainability over the life of the project. The Ministry said no conditions, such as a satisfactory valuation or condition survey, were attached to the release of the money. Asked what condition survey had been carried out, the Ministry said the facility "was built in 2025 and all the approved planning documentations were in order".

How the Ministry came to buy

The Ministry said it first became aware in the last quarter of 2025 that the site was or might become available. The preschool had been built that year. Valuations followed in February and April. The Ministry said Cabinet approved the acquisition by circulation on 29 June 2026, and that the decision document was stamped on 3 July, the date it had first given as the date of approval. The published Cabinet post meeting summary for 1 July records that Cabinet confirmed approval, granted by circulation on 29 June, of two supplementary funding requests for the Ministry of Education and Training, to be reported to Parliament under section 12 of the Public Management and Finance Act (2026 Revision); it does not name the site. The Cabinet Office's published policy is that "only a summary of the decisions will be published". The summary for 15 July records approval of a reallocation of funds from the Ministry of Education and Training to the Ministry of Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure, under which Lands and Survey sits; it gives no amount or purpose.

On 30 June, Finance Committee approved CI$134.3 million in supplementary appropriations, among them CI$48.0 million under the Ministry's education appropriations for the "acquisition and completion of school facilities". The Government's announcement of that approval on 3 July did not name the West Bay site or any other. The Ministry said the purchase was classified as capital expenditure in the 2026 financial year and funded from that line, and that the acquisition was not identified publicly before the announcement of 21 August because it "was not yet finalized". Asked how much the Government had spent on acquiring land and buildings for education purposes in the current financial year to date, the Ministry said on 19 October that the figure was CI$6.5 million. The Finance Ministry told TCJ that where additional expenditure requires approval under section 12, "Cabinet authorisation and advance approval by Parliament's Finance Committee are required", and described those as "institutional approvals, not a second personal approval of an Education purchase by the Minister in his Finance capacity".

The preschool ceased operating in mid July. The purchase agreement and transfer were completed on 20 July. The Ministry announced the purchase on 21 August. Its release of 25 August said the school "will begin occupying the site in the coming week" and that teachers had already been recruited to staff the new classrooms.

Rolston Anglin MP, Minister for Education and Training and Minister for Finance and Economic Development, linked the purchase in the August announcement to population growth in the district. "The pressures that come with projecting population growth in this district over the next five to 10 years caused me a great deal of concern," he said. "In listening carefully during our school visits, we made sure we did something about it." Of the additional accommodation, he said: "For any primary school in Cayman, that addition is significant. It allows us to manage and accommodate both the current and future growth rates we are seeing across our islands."

The Minister

Spending on schools is proposed by the Ministry of Education and Training and funded through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. Rolston Anglin MP leads both. He is also the elected member for West Bay North.

Asked whether he took any part in identifying the site or negotiating the price, the Ministry of Education and Training said no. Asked whether he wished to comment on the purchase in relation to the district he represents, the Ministry said no.

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development answered the same questions on 18 September. It said the acquisition "is a matter for the Ministry of Education and Training" and that the Finance Ministry "did not select the property or negotiate its purchase". The Minister's responsibility for both ministries, it said, "does not mean that he personally carried out the administrative functions of both ministries or acted as two separate approval authorities for this purchase". It added that "holding two ministerial portfolios does not automatically create a conflict of interest or require recusal", and that "Civil Servants within the Lands & Survey Departments – not Ministers of Government – negotiate the purchasing of property on Government's behalf". No evidence has been put to TCJ, and none is suggested here, that the Minister influenced the choice of site or the price.

What the money bought

The site now houses four reception classes, three moved from the main campus and one added, and two autism-specific classrooms for key stage 1, in which eight and six pupils were enrolled when the Ministry replied, with enrolment continuing. It puts the site's capacity at 144 to 168 pupils, taking the school's overall capacity to between 653 and 677. The reception rooms vacated on the main campus now hold two Year 1 classes, freeing a music and art room and an ICT room that doubles as an intervention space. The Ministry said on 21 October that "the entire campus is being utilised".

Seven additional staff are required at approximately CI$755,000 a year, of whom two teachers and three support staff had been recruited. Annual operating costs are estimated at CI$80,000 to CI$100,000. Approximately CI$100,000 had been spent on the Department of Education's networking system and on furniture, in addition to the purchase price. The Ministry said the site was purpose-built as a school and meets the Department's standards for the age groups now accommodated there.

The Ministry's case for the purchase is capacity and speed. "At CI$6.5 million, the acquisition of the Kiddie Winks site provides the Government with a permanent, purpose-built structure with capacity of up to 168 students and it was delivered in a much shorter timeframe than a new construction would have taken," it said. "It also frees up space at the main Sir John A. Cumber campus, providing additional space for Years 1 to 6 and securing spaces for specialist and inclusion services."

The sellers

The Ministry named the sellers as Jennifer Stein and Carolyn Chaloner. The preschool was built in 2025 and sold to the Government in July 2026 for CI$500,000 less than the CI$7 million the Ministry says they asked. Before the purchase, the Ministry said, it had in the normal course of business registered the facility as an educational institution, carried out routine inspections under the Education Regulations, licensed its teachers and made payments for qualifying pupils under the Early Childhood Assistance Programme. Asked how much, the Ministry said CI$7,041.05 was paid to the preschool on parents' behalf between February and July 2026. The price was in Cayman Islands dollars and covered the land, buildings, fixtures and fit-out.

Ms Stein was one of the two nominators of André Martin Ebanks, the TCCP candidate for West Bay South, in the 2025 General Election, according to the Elections Office's published list of nominated candidates. He is now Premier. Cabinet, of which the Premier is a member, approved the acquisition by circulation on 29 June 2026, according to the Ministry. TCJ asked the Office of the Premier on 18 September and 15 October whether Cabinet's consideration of the purchase was supported by an independent valuation, whether any declaration of interest was recorded, and whether the Government would publish the decision; on 16 October the Office said the questions "should be directed to the Ministry responsible for the subject". TCJ's email to Ms Stein of 15 October asked whether she had any connection with any Minister, Member of Parliament or senior public officer that she wished TCJ to take into account. No evidence has been put to TCJ, and none is suggested here, that the Premier took any part in identifying the site or setting the price.

TCJ contacted Ms Stein on 15 October, setting out the price and the three valuations and asking, among other things, when and how discussions with the Government began and who initiated them, whether the site was offered to anyone else, and whether she had any connection with any Minister, MP or senior public officer that she wished TCJ to take into account. Ms Stein had not replied by the time of publication.

How this was reported

TCJ emailed the Ministry of Education and Training on 16 September with 33 questions on the purchase, copied to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and to the Minister, and asked for answers by 18 September. The Finance Ministry replied on 17 September that questions on the purchase should be put to the Education Ministry, and on 18 September answered the two questions on the Minister's dual role. The Education Ministry said on 18 September that "given the number and scope the questions raised, we are unable to provide you with a fully verified response by the deadline provided", and that it would "revert as soon as possible".

On 21 September, Rolston Anglin MP wrote to TCJ's news desk in reply to a separate request for comment on another subject. "Firstly I nor my staff are going to be bullied by the media with your artificial deadlines," he wrote. He referred to "the message received from" a TCJ reporter "last Wednesday of 33 questions with yet another deadline of some 24 hours", and said that "such artificial deadlines are not seen as any deadlines to my staff and I for answers which clearly require more time and thought". The request of 16 September had asked for answers by 18 September. He said he had "copied other members of the media here locally to ensure all others are aware of how my Ministries will handle queries from the media and for the record none have approached my ministries in such an unprofessional/bullying manner". The email was copied to the Premier André Ebanks MP, to James Whittaker and James McKeigue of the Cayman Compass, and to Cayman Marl Road's tips address. The Minister said the two ministries "are committed to openness and transparency and will respond with accurate and complete information utilizing whatever reasonable time is required".

On 23 September the Office of the Premier, replying to TCJ's separate questions of 18 September on Cabinet's consideration of the purchase, said it had copied them to the Education Ministry's communications manager and, "considering my delay", asked for an extension on her behalf, which TCJ granted. TCJ wrote to the Ministry again on 15 October, listing the 31 questions still unanswered and asking for a response by 19 October. The Ministry answered all of them on 19 October, 33 days after they were first put, and answered a further set of questions, including the sellers' asking price and the names of the valuers, on 21 October.

TCJ put its six Cabinet questions to the Office of the Premier again on 15 October. On 16 October the Office said the questions "should be directed to the Ministry responsible for the subject" and that a response would come from the Ministry of Education and Training. The Ministry of Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure, under which Lands and Survey sits, was emailed on 18 September, 15 October, 16 October and 19 October. On 16 October it said the enquiry had been noted and that it had "contacted the relevant parties within the Ministry's remit to obtain the necessary information". It had not provided a substantive response by the time of publication.