Cut overheads not schools

I refer to your report of spurious comments of SIC services committee chairman Gussie Angus that if the council decides not to close Scalloway secondary department “each and every child in Shetland will suffer a loss of £200-worth of educational provision”.

In fact the council’s administration costs for the education of every child in Shetland are a multiple of that amount although Gussie does not seem at all sensitive to those costs.

Perhaps it seems easier for some in the council to propose sacrificing a school and its community rather than addressing the embarrassing costs of their own bureaucracy.

This is the schools services’ third attempt in recent years to close the Scalloway secondary department and it still seems to be relying on luck rather than establishing a clear educational case and for this failure this proposal should meet the same fate as its predecessors.

If as Gussie suggests it’s time to take a stand “for the good o’ all Shetland’s bairns” then I hope that the council will address its own overheads before shutting schools.

Gordon Dargie
Brough,
Hamnavoe,
Burra.

NO COMMENTS

Add Your Comment

Add Your Comment

Please note, it is the policy of The Shetland Times to publish comments and letters from named individuals only. Both forename and surname are required.

Comments are moderated. Contributors must observe normal standards of decency and tolerance for the opinions of others.

The views expressed are those of contributors and not of The Shetland Times.

The Shetland Times reserves the right to decline or remove any contribution without notice or stating reason.

Comments are limited to 200 words but please email longer articles or letters to editorial@shetlandtimes.co.uk for consideration and include a daytime telephone number and your address. If emailing information in confidence please put "Not for publication" in both the subject line and at the top of the main message.

200 words left

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

logo

Get Latest News in Your Inbox

Join the The Shetland Times mailing list to get one daily email update at midday on what's happening in Shetland.