3000 sign petitions within days of news
Almost 3000 people have signed petitions to save two closure–threatened schools.
The Observer reported on Friday how Clackmannanshire Council officials had tabled proposals to shut Fishcross and Coalsnaughton primaries as they bid to plug an £11million funding gap.
Officials say the council’s current budget requirement for 2019/20 will be around £124m but the funding it’s expected to receive will be around £113m – an £11 million deficit.
The school closures are just one of a raft of proposals put forward for consultation.
The closure of the two schools would see the council claw back £164,000 in 2020/21 and a further £133,000 in 2021/22.
Fishcross Primary currently has a school roll of 84 pupils, with Coalsnaughton Primary having 64. Now concerned parents of pupils at the schools have each set up separate online petitions in a bid to gain support for their survival.
A petition set up by the Save Coalsnaughton Primary School has received more than 1600 signatures, whilst another in aid of Fishcross Primary has amassed over 1100.
The Coalsnaughton petition explains the school has been at the heart of the community for generations. It adds: “We are calling on all elected councillors at Clackmannanshire Council to reject any proposal that includes closing our school. Our children’s education should be their absolute priority and that means keeping education local and accessible. Failure to do so will be letting down the children of this community, the staff and the parents and carers. We cannot let that happen and we hope you will add your voice to our campaign to keep our school open.”
The Fishcross Primary petition, set up by the Fishcross Parent Group, says: “The community is devastated at this news. We don’t want our children, beloved teachers and staff displaced.
“Schools in this area are already overcrowded and understaffed. This will only add to the problem. We want our children to have the best education possible in a safe local school. Fishcross is not being closed because of inadequate academic achievement or low enrolment numbers but because of the council trying to make more budget cuts. Simply letting down the present and future children and families of our community.
“If you take away a school from a small community, you kill the community.”