The war of words over the future of Menzieshill High School has escalated with the city’s education convener demanding an apology from his critics.
Stewart Hunter told The Courier that suggestions he has deliberately delayed consideration of a critical report were “false”.
He said they amounted to a claim that he was willing to jeopardise children’s schooling for political gain including that of his own child.
Mr Hunter described that as “a slur” and “reprehensible” and said he hoped the matter would come before the council as swiftly as possible.
Education Scotland officials have prepared a report on the school, consideration of which has now been delayed a month, to a June meeting of the education committee.
That prompted the Labour group’s education spokesman, Laurie Bidwell, to say: “It is difficult not to conclude that the education convener has deliberately delayed making this report available until well after the election.”
He expressed the belief that the decision had been taken because Mr Hunter remained “determined to shut the school down irrespective of the wishes of parents, carers and pupils who have been campaigning to keep Menzieshil open”.
Mr Hunter said that could not be further from the truth.
He said: “The administration group are yet to see the Education Scotland report, have yet to see the department’s response and are yet to decide what our position is. My hope is that these reports will go public within the next fortnight and we are working hard to meet those timelines.
“As a parent of a child affected I would have wanted the report to come to the committee as early as possible.
“Councillor Bidwell’s slur that I put an election before my child is reprehensible and must be withdrawn.”
Mr Hunter added: “We have consistently said that our preference was to bring this report back to the May committee but we have always acknowledged that it might be the June committee instead.
“The issue was raised at a meeting in March, at which Councillor Bidwell was present, and it is curious he seems to have forgotten all about this. This does him little credit.
“It is worth noting that a year ago the education department was involved in another consultation one which was neither controversial nor had the lengthy responses this one has had whose timescale for coming to committee was identical to this.”