Parents of pupils at a closure-threatened Fife primary school say they will demonstrate the strength of feeling against proposals by staging a public protest this week.
The Courier revealed over the weekend that the region’s education and children’s services committee will be asked to back a recommendation to close Dunearn Primary School in Kirkcaldy when it meets at Fife House on Thursday.
Members of the school’s parent council want to ensure councillors attending the meeting are left in no doubt about their opposition to the plans.
Despite almost all of the parents of children at Dunearn who responded to a consultation on the issue rejecting the proposal, education officials have claimed the case for Dunearn’s closure remains strong and want to close it at the end of June 2012.
They say the poor condition of the school, the fact that it is under-occupied, and the fact newer primary schools nearby are also under-occupied are prime reasons for closure.
Serious structural concerns about the school’s assembly hall roof have also worsened in recent months, with temporary props hired at a cost of £3400 a month being used to keep the hall open.
A more permanent solution could cost between £50,000 and £100,000, while there is said to be no funding available to pay for a replacement school building or the repairs required to bring the school up to scratch.OpposeMembers of the school’s parent council have continued to oppose the closure plans recently labelling the consultation process “fundamentally flawed” and will be hoping councillors go against the recommendation to shut Dunearn on Thursday.
“We can only conclude that the structural condition of the school and financial pressures are the primary drivers behind the potential closure, and it is questionable whether these impediments are sufficient to force closure,” a spokesman said.
“There is a danger that closure of Dunearn may not have the desired outcome of increasing pupil numbers at Fair Isle or Strathallan particularly as the parents have been so disenchanted by the approach taken to consult.
“It is our view that the case to close Dunearn has not been made, and that financial pressures and structural issues aligned to the drive to increase pupil numbers at two brand new schools form the basis of the planned closure.”
If Dunearn closes, nearby Fair Isle, Strathallan, Torbain and Valley primaries would then subsume Dunearn’s catchment area from August 14 next year.
Closing the school would save the council an estimated £473,000 over three years, along with the monthly saving of £3400 due to the current cost of propping up the assembly hall roof.