Council is not trying to beat new school closure rules 5/2/10
Western Isles Council has denied it is trying to rush in school closures before new laws come into force.
The council which is to officially consult on axing a total of 18 schools before the summer has suddenly brought forward plans to shut three specific schools.
In a new move revealed tonight (Fri) education councillors will now vote on Tuesday over launching a statutory consultation to specifically close primaries in at Cross, Ness and Stoneybridge, South Uist.
In addition, Daliburgh Secondary in South Uist will receive an unexpected early vote to set the ball rolling.
The authority confirmed they would cease to exist next year if the closure is eventually decided and not 2012 as suggested by the latest recommendations.
It comes just two days after it published its timetable which did not consider staging any immediate vote. Decisions on statutory consultations were to be left for a few weeks.
It could mean the council bypasses stricter rules protecting rural schools being introduced by the Scottish Parliament this Spring.
In 2008, former Education minister Fiona Hsylop angered the council when she ordered it to keep Daliburgh secondary open in a closure attempt.
The new rules due to start for schools under threat after in April insist the council must consider viable alternatives to closure, the effect on the local community, the impact on other groups using the facility, and the changed travelling arrangements and distances.
Many campaigners say local schools as important in attracting and keeping young families in the remote areas and this type of sustainability must now be legally assessed.
A council spokesman said it was not trying to beat the cut off point for the old system.
He said: “We will take the new law into account when it is introduced.
“We welcomed the new laws and will be listening to the community.”
He promised the council would follow the new rules even before they
become law.
He referred to the “major challenges” facing the council which includes struggling
to find scare finance to pay for decaying schools, a sharp fall in pupil numbers
of the years with too few children taught in too many over-
In addition the soaring expense of elderly care is placing increasing costs on the council.
But the council will also skim some of the savings off to help pay for the £60 million cost of five new centralised schools.
It also proposes using some of the savings to pay back a loan for upgrading the schools displaced pupils would transfer too.