The possible construction of a new Fife school to serve communities including Tayport, Newport and Wormit will be forced to the top of the agenda again after a dramatic intervention by opposition councillors.
“We have put forward this motion because we were concerned that the SNP-Lib Dem administration might try to rush through a less than optimal Plan B on the pretext that Plan A has already put the project years behind.
“Better to ask parents what they think is the right way ahead.”
Mr Scott-Hayward said a “Swiss-style” referendum is desperately required.
“There is no good reason for avoiding finding out what our taxpayers want us to do with their money,” he said. “The aspirations which parents have for their children and their own lifestyle needs is what should matter.
“Personally, I think smaller schools in the right place will give communities greater strength and cohesion.
He insists it should ultimately be for parents to decide the best solution. The council should not work blind, especially as so many manifesto pledges, supported in elections, have already been broken.”
The motion lodged by Mr Dempsey and Mr Scott-Hayward asks the committee to note the unsuccessful conclusion of negotiations with the university over a site for a new Madras College, consider there is an opportunity to reconsider the future of secondary education in the Madras catchment area, and instruct the relevant services to immediately organise a referendum of parents of pupils in the Madras catchment to ascertain their preferred options.
These options within the referendum would include the construction of one single site secondary in St Andrews, or two schools including one in the Tay Bridgehead area and one in St Andrews.
The Courier can reveal they will demand a referendum on the issue, saying parents “must be given the final say.”
For well over two decades the creation of a secondary school in the Tay Bridgehead area was the subject of debate.
The issue seemed to have been killed when Fife Council drew up ambitious £40 million plans for a new school sharing facilities with St Andrews University.
It would have replaced the outdated split-site Madras College that caters for children from the Tay Bridgehead area.
There was dismay last month when, after five years of meticulous planning, the university withdrew from the deal.
It had been anticipated the council would move ahead with its Plan B a single-site Madras at Kilrymont in St Andrews.
However, some councillors and many local parents have said it is time to examine the available options with a replacement school at Craigtoun Park, three miles outside St Andrews, among the rumoured possibilities.
Despite all the fresh speculation, council chiefs have been resolute in their opposition to any new calls for a “two-school” solution, insisting a Tay Bridgehead facility is simply not viable.ReferendumThe Courier understands their determination will be sorely tested after councillors Dave Dempsey and Mike Scott-Hayward drew up plans to force a referendum on the issue.
They have lodged a motion on the subject ahead of this week’s meeting of the policy, finance and asset management committee.
Tory Mr Dempsey said: “We have long advocated a two school solution, with one in the Tay Bridgehead and the other in St Andrews. This offers a number of advantages, not least much reduced bus travel for pupils.
“Previously, we held back as the deal with the university offered a quicker route to a much needed new Madras.
“However, it has been obvious for months that the deal was unlikely to come good.”
Mr Dempsey insists it is time for the council to reopen the debate.
“There is an opportunity to revisit the whole question and to find out the views of parents of present and future Madras pupils on the best option for a new school or schools.
Continued…