Tories Rubbish Consultation on Future of Fartown and Rawthorpe (Kirklees Liberal Democrats)

Kirklees Liberal Democrats <info@kirkleeslibdems.org.uk>

Tories Rubbish Consultation on Future of Fartown and Rawthorpe

November 28, 2006 3:19 PM

Cllr Roger Battye (Lib Dem, Dalton Ward)

Cllr Roger Battye (Lib Dem, Dalton Ward) has blasted the Tory administration's plans to consult with schools and parents over the future of Fartown and Rawthorpe High Schools as a "sham" following the Tories submission of a motion to Kirklees Council on Wednesday.

The conservative motion (Item 27) states (1):

'This Council welcomes proposals for education 'academies' in both North and South Kirklees, and looks forward to a constructive debate with schools, parents and communities as to how these plans might be brought to fruition, with minimal disruption to the education of children throughout the Borough.

Cllr Battye says: "This motion reveals that the Tories are totally committed to introducing an academy in south Kirklees which renders their proposed consultation on Fartown and Rawthorpe a joke."

Cllr Battye says: "They were supposed to lay out a number of options for the two schools for the teachers, parents and local communities to consider and comment on. But this motion backs academies to the hilt and states quite plainly that the only dialogue they are interested in is the one which leads to the creation of an academy. They might just as well come out and say they are closing the schools now".

Cllr Battye says: "I hope that my fellow Labour ward councillors in Dalton, as well as the Labour members in Ashbrow, will speak up at the council meeting in favour of the parents they represent having a say in what sort of school their kids go to".

Cllr Battye concluded: "This is an absolutely massive issue and the decision it shouldn't be made by half a dozen elected members without having had the input of local people first".