Wealthy Expats Urged to Fund HLSCC Expansion
H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) has received official accreditation to begin offering four-year degree programmes, starting with a Bachelor of Arts in Education, a development that spurred talk show host Claude Skelton Cline to urge wealthy residents and private investors to help fund a $100 million expansion. Speaking on Honestly Speaking on June 16, 2026, Skelton Cline praised Minister Sharie de Castro and HLSCC leadership while outlining a proposal for a foundation or consortium and multi-year plans to speed up campus build-out and move the college toward university status.
Minister for Education, Youth Affairs and Sports Hon. Sharie B. de Castro recently confirmed that H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) has received official accreditation and will begin offering four-year degree programmes, beginning with a Bachelor of Arts in Education, a milestone reported by local media.
Responding to that announcement on his Honestly Speaking programme on June 16, 2026, talk show host Claude Skelton Cline praised Minister de Castro, HLSCC President Dr. Georges and their teams for securing the accreditation — a step he called “a hippopotamus move.” He said the accreditation must now be turned into tangible institutional growth.
Skelton Cline estimated HLSCC needs roughly $100 million to “build out, outfit and complete” the campus as it moves from a community college to a college and ultimately to a university that could offer master’s programmes. Georges and his team already have a comprehensive plan, including schematic and architectural designs for the campus, underscoring that planning is in place to guide expansion.
To bridge the financing gap, Skelton Cline proposed establishing a foundation or constructive consortium to engage wealthy residents — expatriates, long-term investors and locals “both blacks and whites” — and give them a vested stake in the college’s future. He suggested phased execution timetables of three, five, seven and ten years to bring the project to fruition more quickly than waiting a decade or more.
He argued that recurring government budgets, which he and other commentators say are largely absorbed by recurrent expenditures, cannot on their own deliver transformational capital projects. Skelton Cline urged that “education should be fully funded, not from no annual budget of the government,” and warned that too much money flows through the Territory without local participation in the benefits.
If realised, the expansion could keep more students in the Virgin Islands for advanced study, reduce the outflow of talent, create construction and academic jobs, and strengthen the skills base for tourism, financial services and other key industries. Those potential economic and social gains were central to Skelton Cline’s argument for immediate, private-sector-led investment.
At the same time, community advocates and policymakers will need clear governance, transparency and safeguards to ensure any private partnerships protect local priorities — including access, affordability and benefits for BVI students. Public confidence will depend on accountable fundraising, spending and oversight arrangements.
Skelton Cline’s call adds a private-financing option to ongoing discussions about how best to convert accreditation into long-term institutional growth. With accreditation now in hand and detailed campus plans reportedly prepared, the coming months will be critical for government, HLSCC and potential private partners to assess whether a foundation or consortium can realistically and equitably deliver the capital needed to transform higher education in the British Virgin Islands.
Primary source: BVI News