Calls For Schools Investment

Education bosses in Fife are being urged to start making preparations to replace three ageing high schools in the west.

Councillor Douglas Chapman says St Columba's, Inverkeithing and Woodmill are deteriorating.

It's claimed money is being 'soaked up' trying to keep Inverkeithing watertight.

But Fife Council leader, David Ross, has said the claims are "misleading", saying that SNP plans for capital investment have been branded "financially incompetent."

Mr Chapman said: "Fife Council has the opportunity to start looking at a new group of schools to be replaced and given that most of the current investment is going into Kirkcaldy and East Fife, it's now the right time to start planning for three new high schools in the Dunfermline area.

"We built the new Dunfermline High and the school has made a huge strides in providing the very best education with new enhanced facilities for learning, sport and vocational education. We now need to employ the same design and build factors to create new inspirational learning and community campuses at Inverkeithing, Woodmill and St.Columba's.   

"The reason for urgency is becoming more than acute at each of the schools as Inverkeithing, for example, is of a design that simply soaks up money to keep the building wind, watertight and in an acceptable state of repair. At Woodmill, the expansion in numbers of primary school children in the area will hit the school soon and pupil projections will "bulge" in early 2020's so planning to cater for these numbers of extra pupils needs to begin now. St.Columba's is simply showing its age and a rebuild would help the school develop more exciting learning opportunities, especially for vocational education, for more community involvement and to showcase the best of the talents of their students.

"At the moment these projects are not on the Labour administration's radar, but the ground must be prepared now to take advantage of any additional capital investment that comes from the Scottish Government. There may be small scale improvements being made to these schools, but we need to go beyond "sticking plaster" solutions. Investment in a complete rebuild for Inverkeithing, Woodmill and St.Columba's is the only real answer and the quicker Labour bites the bullet and gets plans and timescales on the table so that each school is "good to go" when additional funding becomes available."

Fife Council Leader David Ross says Cllr Chapman is misleading parents, and that his plans for capital investment have been ruled out as financially incompetent by financial officers at the local authority.

And that the SNP, and Mr Chapman in his capacity as education spokesman, had five years in control of the council to tackle the issue, but didn't.