SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - Member of Parliament (MP) Veronica Jansen-Webster is extending her sincere congratulations to the management, teachers, support staff, students, and parents of Sundial School and Milton Peters College (MPC) following the remarkable improvement in their preliminary examination results for the 2025-2026 academic year.

According to figures released this week, the overall pass rate at the two schools increased from 57% last year to 68% this year, with several departments recording pass rates of 70% or higher. Sundial's PKL/PBL and TKL departments both achieved pass rates of 76%, while the HAVO department recorded a 70% pass rate. The results represent a significant turnaround from the disappointing outcomes recorded last year.

"As someone who was openly critical of the examination results achieved by these schools last year, I believe it is equally important to publicly acknowledge and congratulate them when clear improvement has been demonstrated," MP Jansen-Webster stated.

The parliamentarian noted that the article highlighted how school management, teachers, parents, and students worked together to implement targeted interventions aimed at strengthening academic support, improving student engagement, expanding wellness services, and fostering a stronger culture of excellence.

"These results did not happen by chance. They are the product of hard work, accountability, strategic planning, and a commitment to improvement. I want to commend Education Director Sergio Blomont, the management teams, teachers, support staff, parents, and especially the students for embracing the challenge and working together to achieve better outcomes."

MP Jansen-Webster encouraged both schools to continue building on the progress made this year.

"The challenge now is to maintain this momentum. Continuous improvement must remain the goal. I encourage the schools to continue investing in the interventions that are proving successful and to keep striving for even higher levels of achievement in the years ahead."

Special congratulations were extended to all students who successfully completed their examinations.

"To every student who passed their examinations, congratulations. You have every reason to be proud of your accomplishments. Continue to pursue excellence as you move forward in your educational journey."

The Member of Parliament also expressed appreciation for the teachers who guided students throughout the school year.

"Our teachers play an invaluable role in shaping the future of our country. Their dedication often extends beyond the classroom through extra lessons, mentoring, counseling, and countless hours of preparation. The success we celebrate today would not have been possible without their commitment."

MP Jansen-Webster further took the opportunity to congratulate all students across St. Maarten who have recently completed their primary school education and are preparing to enter secondary school.

"To all students graduating from primary school this year, congratulations on reaching this important milestone. As you move on to your secondary school journey, I encourage you to remain focused, disciplined, and committed to your studies. Secondary education will present new challenges, but it will also provide tremendous opportunities for personal growth and success."

She offered one piece of advice she hopes every student will remember throughout their educational career.

"If there is one lesson I would like every student to take with them, it is this: never be afraid to ask for help. The moment you realize that you do not fully understand a subject or concept, seek assistance immediately. Speak to your teachers, your parents, your classmates, or a mentor. The sooner you address a challenge, the easier it becomes to overcome it. A good friend reminded me recently of the scripture: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". (Philipians 4:13)"

MP Jansen-Webster concluded by reaffirming her commitment to education and youth development.

"Education remains one of the subjects closest to my heart. I love reading stories about students succeeding, schools improving, and teachers making a difference. When our young people succeed, St. Maarten succeeds. Let us continue working together to ensure that every child is given the opportunity to achieve their full potential."

SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - Well over 60 crisis colleagues from all parts of the Kingdom gathered in The Hague from 1 up to and including 4 June for the 7^th Week of Crisis Management Caribbean parts of the Kingdom.

During this week, the participants exchanged knowledge and experiences and participated in a crisis control drill with the aim of more grip on crises and optimal cooperation during a crisis or imminent crisis.

Some impressions of the Week of Crisis Management

The Week of Crisis Management started with the theme local resilience as the key to resilient cooperation, after which everyone set to work together on the elaboration of the recommendations for crisis management capacities.

On Tuesday 2 June, the day started with the joint crisis management drill in the course of which a Tropical Cyclone Briefing was practised based on the fictitious hurricane Lucas. Later, the colleagues of USAR provided an explanation about Hurricane Relief Capacity.

On Wednesday 3 June, all participants gathered at the National Tactical Command (LTC) of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. There, the role of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee in the Caribbean was explained and the participants learnt more about the tasks and roles in the event of a crisis. The last day of the Week of Crisis Management was all about cyber resilience.

Each day, there were working sessions where the participants worked on current issues together.

To be continued

The participants look back on the 7^th Week of Crisis Management with satisfaction. Cooperation and preparation were the central themes. For instance, they jointly provided input for plans and actions relating to strategic stocks, which are going to be elaborated further in the coming period, and they agreed to work towards a common standard for professional competence.

Participants
The week was organised by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and the Ministry of Justice and Security. Various representatives of crisis organisations of the six islands Curaçao, Aruba, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, employees of various ministries and chain partners, e.g. ‘Knooppunt Coördinatie Regio’s-Rijk’ (KCR2) and Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR.NL), gathered.

SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY – By Terence Jandroep) - In the tax administration systems of Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten, the right to object to a tax assessment is a fundamental legal shield for the taxpayer. However, many business owners discover a harsh reality too late: writing a protest letter is not merely an administrative formality; it is a strict legal procedure.

Every year, dozens of valid corporate tax disputes are thrown out before they are even evaluated on their financial merits. The verdict? Inadmissibility (Niet-ontvankelijkheidsverklaring).

When a protest letter is declared inadmissible, the Tax Inspectorate legally closes the door on the dispute. The assessment becomes final, the legal avenues are blocked, and the file is handed directly to the Tax Receiver for Compliance by Force—leading straight to bank liens and asset auctions.

Understanding why protest letters fail on technical grounds is the first step in avoiding operational paralysis.

The Anatomy of Inadmissibility: Why the Door Slams Shut
Inadmissibility does not mean the Tax Inspector looked at your math and disagreed. It means your protest letter failed to meet the strict procedural rules mandated by Dutch Caribbean tax law. In simple terms, the Inspector rejected the letter without ever reading your arguments.

The most common triggers for immediate inadmissibility include:

*The Hard 2-Month Deadline: Tax ordinances across the islands dictate a strict timeframe (typically two months from the date of the assessment notice) to lodge a formal objection. Missing this window by even a single day results in automatic inadmissibility, regardless of how incorrect the tax bill is.

*The "Premature" Protest: Filing an objection before the assessment has been officially issued or finalized by the Inspectorate is procedurally invalid.

*Lack of Explicit Authorization: If a consultant signs the protest letter but fails to submit a legally binding power of attorney (machtiging) signed by the corporate director, the letter is procedurally dead on arrival.

*Failure to State Grounds: A letter that simply says, "I disagree with this assessment because it is too high," is legally insufficient. The protest must explicitly state the factual and legal grounds for the objection.

The Danger of the "Accountant's Exit"
The primary reason businesses fall into the inadmissibility trap is a structural gap in regional representation. Many local business owners rely on standard accountants to draft their protest letters.

Because standard accountants are trained for compliance and historical bookkeeping rather than formal litigation, they frequently treat the protest letter as a casual administrative request. When the Inspectorate responds with a declaration of inadmissibility, the accountant reaches their technical ceiling and exits the equation.

The taxpayer is then left in the "War Room" confronted with frozen bank accounts and imminent asset seizures, realizing too late that their original defense was procedurally flawed.

The Post-Inadmissibility Crisis: Entering the War Room
Once a protest letter is declared inadmissible, traditional litigation options collapse. You cannot easily appeal the substance of the tax bill to the Board of Appeals or the Court of First Instance because you failed to complete a valid objection phase.

At this precise point of crisis, the Tax Receiver takes control of the file to execute the debt. This is where the business enters a phase of immediate operational threat:

*Bank Liens: Working capital is frozen instantly, halting payroll and supplier payments.

*Public Auctions: Corporate assets, vehicles, and inventory are slated for forced liquidation on the courthouse steps.

The Alternative Pathway: Tax Stay of Execution Mediation
When a protest letter is thrown out for inadmissibility, the legal battle over the law is over. The debt is locked. However, the battle for business survival is not.

This is where the paradigm must shift from legal litigation to Forensic Mediation. As a Certified Risk Auditor (CRA), Terence Jandroep pioneers a specialized intervention known as Compliance by Acceptance.

Instead of trying to revive a dead legal protest, this methodology focuses on the clinical reality of the business's current liquidity. By constructing an international ISO-standard Technical Evidence Binder, Jandroep bypasses the procedural wreckage and presents the Tax Receiver with an undeniable financial alternative: halting the destructive auction and replacing it with a structured, audited framework that guarantees 100% recovery for the state treasury over time.

"An inadmissible protest letter locks the legal door," says Jandroep. "But forensic mediation behaves like a financial locksmith. We accept the liability determined by the state, but we forensically restructure the recovery method so the government gets paid and the enterprise keeps breathing."

By Certified Risk Auditor (CRA), Terence Jandroep

SINT MAARTEN/DANIA BEACH, Fla. – Spirit Aviation Holdings, Inc., parent company of Spirit Airlines, LLC (“Spirit” or the “Company”), today, Saturday, May 2, 2026 regretfully announced that the Company has started an orderly winddown of operations, effective immediately.

All Spirit flights have been cancelled, and Spirit Guests should not go to the airport. The wind-down follows the Company’s extensive and comprehensive efforts to restructure the business and pursue transactions to strengthen Spirit’s financial position and create a sustainable path forward.

Unfortunately, despite the Company’s efforts, the recent material increase in oil prices and other pressures on the business have significantly impacted Spirit’s financial outlook. With no additional funding available to the Company, Spirit had no choice but to begin this wind-down.

“For more than 30 years, Spirit Airlines has played a pioneering role in making travel more accessible and bringing people together while driving affordability across the industry,” said Dave Davis, Spirit’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

“In March 2026, we reached an agreement with our bondholders on a restructuring plan that would have allowed us to emerge as a go-forward business. However, the sudden and sustained rise in fuel prices in recent weeks ultimately has left us with no alternative but to pursue an orderly wind-down of the Company.

“Sustaining the business required hundreds of millions of additional dollars of liquidity that Spirit simply does not have and could not procure. This is tremendously disappointing and not the outcome any of us wanted.”

“I want to thank the Administration, in particular Secretary Howard Lutnick and the U.S. Department of Commerce, for their extraordinary efforts to try to preserve jobs and service across the country, along with the U.S. Department of Transportation for their assistance to minimize the disruption to our Guests in the days and weeks ahead,” Davis continued.

“Many stakeholders have stepped up for Spirit through our restructuring. We are grateful to our labor union partners, aircraft lessors, other business partners and our financial stakeholders including Citadel, Cyrus Capital and Ares Management Corp, for working with us on tangible solutions to restructure our business.”

“Most of all, we are grateful to our relentless Spirit team for their tremendous effort during our restructuring,” Davis added.

“They have tirelessly provided a safe, affordable and award-winning option to the traveling public.”

Spirit will automatically process refunds for any flights purchased through Spirit with a credit or debit card to the original form of payment.

Guests who booked flights via a travel agent should contact the travel agent directly to request a refund.

Compensation for Guests who booked flights using any other methods, including a voucher, credit or Free Spirit points, will be determined at a later date through the bankruptcy process.

Guests can visit https://spiritrestructuring.com for more information about Spirit’s wind-down process.