A MAJOR consultation to decide the fate of Flintshire’s schools will resume next month.
But council leaders have been accused of backtracking on plans for a full council debate on the issue.
Flintshire Council’s executive committee voted yesterday to restart the process, which was halted last month after Labour councillors tabled a motion calling for the consultation to be scrapped.
Hundreds of angry pupils, parents and teachers packed into Mold’s Clwyd Theatr Cymru for a special meeting of the council on August 17 where council chiefs agreed to look at the proposals again.
However, Cllr Aaron Shotton, leader of the Labour group, said many councillors were now being blocked from putting their views across because the issue is no longer going to full council for debate.
He said the Labour group was considering whether to call in the executive’s decision to restart the consultation process.
“At the special meeting it was agreed there would be a meeting of the executive and then a full council meeting to give every member the chance to have their say.
But that is not happening. It doesn’t look like anything is actually changing.
“The whole point of us stopping the process was so detailed information on costings and pupil numbers could be made available, but this has not happened either.”
Parent Heidi Jenkins, who is fighting to save the closure-threatened Argoed High School in Mynydd Isa, said the meeting had been a “waste of time”.
“After the special meeting we believed every councillor would be able to have their say on the plans,” she said. “Our fear is the council is just trying to cover its back and push through the changes they want to see.”
She added: “They have only just scratched the surface as far as the Argoed campaign is concerned.
“We will be present at every single meeting and will not stop until they take our school out of the options being considered.”
Speaking at yesterday’s meeting, Ian Budd, Flintshire’s director of lifelong learning, admitted the council had to restore public confidence in the consultation process.
He said the council would engage with as many groups as possible and encouraged members of the public to put forward additional options for consideration.
Cllr Nigel Steele-Mortimer, executive member for education, said: “We have three schools where surplus places are about 30 per cent. The Welsh Government will not allow this situation to continue.”
But Cllr Tony Sharps said the council should not bow to pressure from the Welsh Government.
“Any threats from the Welsh Government do not worry me, we will do as we like. Let them stand up and be counted,” he said.
The council’s executive approved a new four-stage process which is due to start in October with a series of meetings with headteachers, governors, students and parents.
A report on the initial consultation stage will be heard in January 2012 with an in-depth consultation due to be completed by May 2012.
The authority will then issue a formal proposal detailing any changes in September 2012 and a final decision is expected to be reached the following month.
Implementation of any changes will begin in September 2014.