Private council debate on future of Buckie High School funding criticised
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THE decision to hold a vital council meeting on future funding for Buckie Community High School (BCHS) has been criticised by two local councillors.
Councillors met at Wednesday's full council meeting to discuss applications to the Scottish Government for funding to replace BCHS and Forres Academy as well as decide which project should be deemed the priority, with officers recommending the latter school get the nod in this regard.
However, councillors voted 14-10 to make discussions private despite documents already being published.
The vote came after council leader Councillor Kathleen Robertson (Forres, Conservative) received legal advice from monitoring officer Alasdair McEachan, who said the discussion could influence the upcoming Buckie by-election.
Any prioritisation of either Forres Academy or BCHS over the other was also delayed until after the election.
Mr McEachan said open discussion about either school being favoured could impact the election
result.
He said: “The question of choosing a priority between them is something that would be published
following this meeting, which I think would give concerns with the fairness of the election on November 3."
However, opposition SNP group joint leader Councillor Graham Leadbitter (Elgin City South) said he disagreed with the decision to consider the item in private.
He said: "It has already been in the public domain and the public have had a chance to see it.
"Because of that, I think it really needs to stay in the public domain, because whatever we do now will set ears running.
"I think that, because it has been published, it needs to stay in the public domain.
"That is is important for transparency and scrutiny."
It was a view which was to find agreement among Buckie councillors Neil McLennan (Independent) and Sonya Warren (SNP).
Councillor McLennan said: "Both Councillor Leadbitter, the SNP leader, and I, as Buckie’s Independent member, called for the debate to be held in public especially given that the papers have been published transparently in public domain when there was full awareness of the Buckie by-election.
"It seems a fair way forward is putting both schools in for funding just now and seek urgent updates on ‘suitability’ and ‘condition’ reports of both schools to come back to council as soon as possible. It will be interesting to see where various elected members sit on this.
"Improving our school estate, attainment and achievement must be a priority. Any slippage on that concerns me for children across Moray. The matter has seen many people contact me from Buckie. I note the previous reps of Buckie being prioritised and hope that Buckie is treated fairly going forward. I have sent a series of technical and procedural questions to officers in advance of the meeting today.
"My questions seek further fair and transparent information to support clear and fair decision making. It is important councillors have this information and answers to my questions before making any decision on this matter, including any attempt by them to re-prioritise.”
Councillor Warren described the move to hold the discussion behind closed doors as "disappointing".
"It was really disappointing that the decision to hold the debate about these papers, which had been in the public domain for a few weeks, was taken into the confidential session," she continued.
"At the end of the day the right decision was made, with councillors agreeing to invest in our school learning estate and funding applications being put forward for both BCHS and Forres Academy."
The condition of Forres Academy has been rated as a D, the worst category possible.
Essential parts of the school building were described as "life expired and/or at serious risk of imminent failure", including: the roof; floors and stairs; ceilings; external walls, windows and doors; internal walls and doors; and sanitary services.
BCHS, while rated as a C, received a D rating for its roof; floors and stairs; and sanitary services.
