Report to the People
23rd January 2006
Not
the End
One thing about the schools
row on which everyone can agree is that the current situation cannot continue.
We know, as HM Inspectorate of Education confirmed two years ago, that
our children are being held back because they’re being taught in crumbling
classrooms.
At the risk of making the
understatement of the week, however, there is less common ground on the question
of the way forward - not that Inverclyde Council could be accused of trying to
find any.
By scrapping the last
council’s comprehensive plans to give all our kids the new, modern schools
they deserve, Inverclyde Council has squandered valuable time and money.
Indeed, their new plan can, at best, only deliver less and deliver it
later. And, with the proposals to
close popular schools, it’s no wonder we’re not convinced it’s a winner.
These divisions were again
brought into sharp focus last week by the news that, despite our best efforts,
the Education Minister could find no grounds to refuse consent for the plans.
But, as disappointing as this technical, legal victory for the council is
to many of us, it’s not the end.
The mistakes in the Municipal
Buildings mean that work is now so far behind that it’s unlikely that the
plans can be implemented before the 2007 local elections.
So, if we are to stop this
divisive, completely unnecessary shambles damaging our kids’ education,
Inverclyde Council needs to change tactics and try finding some consensus.
It’s the least we can expect.
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