Dear UHS Families, Alumni, donors, and greater Cape Town Jewish Community.

At 3pm on Friday 19 June we were informed by email that our school and preschool and shul, central to our community, will be closing at the end of 2020.

This announcement came like a bolt out of the blue, at the end of a difficult term for families and children (as well as teachers and support staff) and in the midst of a pandemic that has left people reeling at the multiple losses we are all feeling.

This, after the financials at the last AGM held on 20 May 2020 as signed off by the Chairperson and Treasurer stated: “The Board members have reviewed the school’s cash flow forecast for the year to 31 December 2020 and, in the light of this review and the current financial position, they are satisfied that the school has or has access to adequate resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future”. This was 1 month before they announced closure of the Constantia Campus. 

Section A of the UHS Constitution mentions specifically that the Board should:

• “lead ethically and effectively”
• “ensure that reports issued by the UHS enable stakeholders to make informed assessments of the UHS’s performance and its short, medium- and long-term prospects”
• “In the execution of its governance role and responsibilities, the Board should adopt a stakeholder inclusive approach that balances the needs, interests and expectations of material stakeholders in the best interests of the UHS over time”

The UHS Constitution has been amended in such a way as to facilitate massive changes like this, for example bringing in a paid external executive director.

Like most parents in the UHS system, we took little interest in the running of the schools. And like most parents we said nothing when Dafna closed because it didn’t impact on us. Now we find ourselves on the chopping block - the school which is the center of the Southern Suburbs Jewish Community. Remove the School, the community will dwindle, assimilate and die.

We did not speak for Dafna. If you don’t speak for us, who will be next?

We propose the formation of a Constantia/Kerem working group who can liaise effectively with the board and speak on behalf of stakeholders.

We want a clear explanation as to how a dire financial collapse occurred within a matter of 4 weeks, why there was not consultation with the stakeholders, how such a HUGE announcement could be made at the eleventh hour of the school term, how such a HUGE announcement could be made in the midst of a pandemic, the emotional and psychological impact of which is yet to be determined, how this could have been announced when admissions to public schools for 2021 are already closed, and how all of this fits into section A of the UHS Constitution?

We demand the following

1. The decision to close the schools be rescinded until such a time as adequate stakeholder engagement has occurred, and the answers as to the financial situation we seem to be in  are made clear. 
2. The school remains open until at least the 31st of December 2021 to allow those parents who choose not to travel to other UHS campuses to find appropriate alternative placements for their children.