Accusations of electioneering have threatened to overshadow a £6 million programme of improvements in 13 Fife primary school buildings.
The SNP group on Fife Council yesterday accused the Labour administration of making a “false and fictitious connection” between improvements at Camdean, Commercial, Lynbrun, Touch, Canmore, Pitreavie, McLean, Limekilns, Caskieberran, Southwood, Warout, Kingsbarns and Balmerino primaries and the previously agreed closure of Pitcorthie, Wellwood, Crombie and Tanshall primaries.
SNP group leader Peter Grant said: “It is an undeniable fact that the investment being proposed is not based on the decision to close these schools. Some of the projects had already happened. The administration must have known that.”
But the council’s executive spokesman for education, Bryan Poole, accused the SNP of “political gibberish” as it attempted and failed to cancel the closure of the four primary schools. An amendment to an administration motion was rejected by 14 votes to six.
Mr Poole said: “There are times when I despair of the democratic process we are all part of as councillors.
“Rather than examine reports from officers, with a view to ensuring good decision-making, council committees have become a forum for political point-scoring and during election periods for electioneering.”
The council’s executive committee yesterday approved plans for £6m of improvements in schools affected by the forthcoming school closures.
The investment has been set aside to improve the school estate as part of the council’s sustainable school estate programme.
Elected members agreed the funding necessary for the programme of works to go ahead.
Council leader David Ross said: “This money was set aside to improve the schools which would be receiving pupils affected by school closure proposals, by improving IT systems, upgrading toilets, windows, roofs and generally improving the condition of these schools.
“We now have a planned programme of works, agreed with the head teachers, which can reassure parents that the promised work will be carried out, without disruption to the pupils.
“As promised, all essential work will be completed for the start of the new school year and further improvements will be carried out over the next 18 months.
“I know that this has been a difficult period for all those affected but having visited a number of the receiving schools, I have been struck by their positive attitude and the work that has gone into making this transition as smooth as possible.”
Councillors were given reassurance that every effort would be made to minimise disruption to local communities during the works.
Fife Council building services operate a Considerate Contractor Scheme, which sets out to ensure any disruption is kept to a minimum and handled sensitively within the community. Sub-contractors working for building services are expected to comply with any arrangements.
The refurbishment works will be programmed into two phases: phase one will include work undertaken from Easter to August 2015 and phase two is work to be completed by August 2016.
Shelagh McLean, directorate resources manager, said: “We now have a work schedule which has been carefully planned to cause the least disruption possible to all the pupils.”
The first of the works are set to begin during the Easter break with the bulk of improvements being put in place during the summer holidays.