Monday, January 21, 2008

LEAVE SCHOOLS ALONE AND MAKE DO WITH A LITTLE LESS MONEY


The Save Our Schools campaign has gathered pace phenomonally over the last few days. Councillors from all parties and none are making it clear they will oppose the proposed changes at Full Council in March - with any luck all of this will be abandoned well before then........

I note on the SOS website that Conservative Cllr Ian Ward from Sandown is attempting to organise a leadership challenge to the boy wonder Pugh. Hopefully he will be successful, and will bring down his right-hand man, Wells, too.

As I was being bombarded with emails yesterday evening I have tried to direct campaigners to put pressure on those Tory councillors with a primary school in their ward that is set for closure under all the options and have yet to make their position clear. There's no point in targeting those of us who agree with the campaign !

The Council leadership claims that it will have £2m further to spend on education if it closes all these schools. In my view this is just about the most political choice you can make. Do you resolve that £2m is a price worth paying to retain schools in our communities, or do you determine that the cost of something is more important than the value it gives ? In my view the choice is very easy.

Finally the reduction in government capital grants from April does not force closures on the Council. There is no government agenda to do that. What the Council are CHOOSING to do is reduce the number of schools it has to maintain in future years.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

You then Geoff would keep all the schools open and let them fall into disrepair though lack of funds from central government to maintain them properly? The Liberals did that I seem to remember.

Jill Wareham was on the radio today, denied it was Lib policy before the election to do exactly what the tories are now doing and had the cheek to accuse them of selling off assets. This is of course what her administration did, usually for peanuts.

Anonymous said...

The trouble with you Conservatives after a while you believe your own LIES.

Cllr. Geoff Lumley said...

Dear 2nd Anon comment - I hope you mean 1st Anon commentator !!!!

Anonymous said...

I'm sure he/she did! However just because you hate Tories doesn't mean they are lying. Even Geoff admits there is a future funding crisis.

Cllr. Geoff Lumley said...

No I don't ! I admit there are funding CHOICES to make, but that's what politics is about

Anonymous said...

And the democratically elected party have made that choice. Not easy but better than the status quo. If schools improve they will be forgiven. You should never play to the crowd, Pugh and Wells are brave and sensible men, christians acting in our best interests of children. You wouldnt understand.

Anonymous said...

Tony Blair is a christian look how he treated the people of Iraq.Bombs and more bombs.Just because Geoff is not a Christian this doesnt mean he is a bad person.

Anonymous said...

No but like Blair these two on the island have a conviction. They must beleive they are doing the right thing.

Blair had to believe he was doing the right thing, how else could he send troops to die?

Anonymous said...

Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin each killed millions. No doubt they both believed they were 'doing the right thing'.
Does that mean you would support them?