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School closures back on agenda (2012 SIC cuts)


paulb
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paulb:-

 

As far as I am aware distant islands allowance is funded from central government, so if the council didn't pay it, they wouldn't get the funding from the government, therefore there would be no actually saving to the sic.

 

Im not sure if it comes from central government or not , BUT why should only employees of the sic get this perk , we all live on this Island.

 

And Yes good point paulb , if its good enough for Yell it should be good enough for lerwick also.....but no , its would seem not. Fur coat and nae knickers springs tae mind. :lol:

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What I can't understand is why there has been no mention of the big rotating cash cow that is Viking Energy in all this debate.

If the council were really so confident that it was going to reap the millions of pounds for the local community as they have been stating for the last x number of years, then why are they not undaunted in the face of budget cuts, safe in the knowledge that in a few short years from now the pound coins will be falling from the blades of the generators and being wheel-borrowed away to the big Shetland community purse?

 

If they had such confidence in the proposal then surely they wouldn't be closing schools now, only to open them again in a few years once VE, the 21st century Sullom Voe, starts paying dividends.

 

Or is it possible that they don't have the certitude in VE that they have been peddling to the masses? I'm no cynic, but.........

 

For the posters saying about the single track roads to some of the existing schools verging on unsafe, I wouldn't put it past the council to turn the roads into brash two lane highways, with the opening ceremonies being held on the same day as the schools at the end of them close.

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Why are the councillors making any decisions right now. A lot of them will not be there next time either because they have retired or because the electorate have decided to replace them. Would it not be honest for them to say that it is just a waste of time to make "decisions" now that may be reversed by the next council. Maybe they (especially those not standing for re-election) could instead use their experience to say where money is wasted and could be saved without cutting those services that the people of Shetland reasonably regard as important. Bet some of them have got good ideas if only they would speak out.

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paulb

 

No I'm not forgetting Quarff but if I remember correctly the parents agreed on the school closure, and Norwick school in Unst also closed with the agreement of the parents.

 

 

This isn't strictly accurate. In Quarff parents were told that there were no suitable candidates for the opening of headteacher as there was only one applicant for the job. This resulted in an endless supply of supply teachers going into the school which parents found unsettling for the pupils. Unsurprisingly they started putting their children to Cunningsburgh and therefore the school closed. In Haroldswick they fought the council 3 times to keep their school open. When they were faced with the 4th time they simply held up their hands and said "enough is enough" - people can only put up with the stress of it for so long, the school lives in a permanent position of limbo, nothing can be planned for the future of the school because of the threat of closure.

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The main reason all the schools are back on the table is that councillors chickened out of the decisions when they should have been made. Baltasound, Skerries secondaries - ridiculous they're still open. We now spend a fortune on more reviews and hyperbolic parents act as if their kids are being sent down the mines.

 

Yes, maybe all these cuts are 'too much too fast' but they have come because of the inability to get a grip in the past. And the unions have pushed through a single status deal that cost millions because they couldn't countenance members losing a penny in pay - now folk will lose jobs instead. The unions lost my respect after their hysterical reaction to single status - they should have chosen the battles that matter to ordinary folk and the needy.

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What I can't understand is why there has been no mention of the big rotating cash cow that is Viking Energy in all this debate.

If the council were really so confident that it was going to reap the millions of pounds for the local community as they have been stating for the last x number of years, then why are they not undaunted in the face of budget cuts, safe in the knowledge that in a few short years from now the pound coins will be falling from the blades of the generators and being wheel-borrowed away to the big Shetland community purse?

 

If they had such confidence in the proposal then surely they wouldn't be closing schools now, only to open them again in a few years once VE, the 21st century Sullom Voe, starts paying dividends.

 

Or is it possible that they don't have the certitude in VE that they have been peddling to the masses? I'm no cynic, but.........

 

For the posters saying about the single track roads to some of the existing schools verging on unsafe, I wouldn't put it past the council to turn the roads into brash two lane highways, with the opening ceremonies being held on the same day as the schools at the end of them close.

 

The funds from Viking Energy will go to the Charitable Trust which can only be used for charitable purposes so it couldn't be used for a the SIC's statutory duties such as paying for the running costs of schools. Your comment about road upgrades sounds about right though.

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The main reason all the schools are back on the table is that councillors chickened out of the decisions when they should have been made. Baltasound, Skerries secondaries - ridiculous they're still open. We now spend a fortune on more reviews and hyperbolic parents act as if their kids are being sent down the mines.

 

 

 

Typical response from someone who doesn't live on an island or understand how a very small community which rely on inter island ferries work.

 

An independent socio-economic study was carried out in Skerries as part of the Blueprint and the conclusion was that shutting the secondary was actually going to end up costing the SIC more money than if they kept it open. This was the main reason it was kept open.

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The community would get a payment from the construction. Though there is no point building any until the link is installed.

 

I have always wondered about school closures and costs. If pupils are educated well and start earning within the community several years later, that has to be an incentive.

 

Again, it may be worth the parents looking into running the school, or another school themselves in the area.

 

Folk are setting up schools here, the trouble is they are more of a drain and can be less accountable.

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At the risk of being accused of being against other communities (which I'm not, I believe every school should be kept open) I will use the following as an example of how uneven the playing field is as far as school closures go.

 

In the original review of education single-teacher schools were looked at as it was suggested that education in these schools were in some way inferior to bigger schools. Eventually it was admitted that this was wrong and that these schools were being looked at as it was perceived as being an expensive model for delivering education.

 

In this Blueprint they looked at not only schools that were single-teacher schools but schools that had projected falling school rolls. Cullivoe and Skeld primary were on the list originally but removed when it was clear that the school roll was infact going up and not down.

 

Cullivoe school roll at the moment has 24 pupils, 2 leaving at summer and 9, YES 9, primary 1's starting school. So that's 31 bairns.

 

I'm not sure of Skeld's school roll but it has a nursery attached and usually has in the region of 24 or 25 pupils including nursery bairns. Cullivoe and Skeld are both mentioned as possibly up for closure under the new cuts.

 

Nesting primary school has 14 pupils. Nursery bairns go to Tingwall. This school has never been suggested for closure under any review, mostly I suspect, because it is only 8 years old.

 

Lunnasting primary school is about the same size as Skeld primary with a nursery attached. Brae is approx. 12 miles away so it is comparable with Cullivoe to Mid-Yell. It has never been suggested for possible closure under any review of education.

 

As I said at the beginning, I am not against these communities having their schools, but I'm trying to make people understand that it feels like it is the same schools that are being picked on and there is very little reason for this happening, other than we are seen as easy targets. It also shows that the schools service doesn't appear to have any firm criteria or stategy in place for rationalising schools, there is no rhyme or reason and now we are being told there is no money. But it appears that there is no money only for certain areas.

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De-centralise i think is the solution.With the huge investment from the SIC in building secondary schools at Sandwick, Brae, Aith and Scalloway, along with the leisure centres built next to them, why not close the AHS in lerwick and bus the pupils out to these schools which are fit for purpose.Simples. Support these schools rather than just close them, as has already happened to Scalloway. Save millions by closing the AHS and not building another one.

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