Pressure mounts before school cluster vote

A week before the Community Services Committee decides to adopt or ditch Argyll and Bute Council's controversial school cluster proposal, 'the Collective Leadership Model' (CLM), campaigner Tracy Mayo has appealed to councillors to 'reflect on their duties'.

 

'You are advocates for your community tasked with representing their views, not your own,' Ms Mayo wrote: 'Decisions must be made on the best evidence. You should actively challenge/seek information. It is your responsibility to maintain and strengthen the public’s trust in the council.'

 

She raised four points from Helensburgh Community Council's 'Process Review', collating views from Argyll's parent and community councils.

 

'The starting point for this proposal/marketing exercise was savings,' she said. 'We were led to believe this was about “equity” for our children. The extract below makes it clear savings, not equity, was the starting point.'

 

The extract, from the Education Transformation Board minutes in November 2021, reads: 'The executive head cluster model came from proposals first developed and put forward by the Education Budget Working Group to deliver savings.'

 

Secondly, she summarised the review's conclusions: 'The case for change has not been made. The proposal is no more than a series of assertions. It does not provide a solid educational rationale for the wholesale changes, nor data, nor costings, nor risk assessment.

 

'No balance of information was provided. Stakeholders were left to investigate the risks and weaknesses themselves. The proposal was framed in the positive. Communities have been asked to make a decision that could later prove to their detriment.'

 

Thirdly, it said there is 'no way back if voted through', and 'no legal framework for a re-vote': 'This "proposal in principle"... gives the impression it is a trial which can be undone if it is found to have a detrimental impact. There is no legal framework to re-vote on this once councillors have voted it through.'

 

Finally, it says: 'This process failed to engage stakeholders in the numbers it should have.'

 

A council spokesperson said its consultation feedback will enable councillors to make an informed decision next week.