Angus Council will attempt to save its rejected ‘superschool’ application in court, the same day the local elections take place.
The authority will lock horns with the Scottish Government in a hearing at the Court of Session on May 3, despite the possibility that a new administration could be in place the next day.
Critics of the move say the decision to go to a judicial review should have been held back until polling was completed, to avoid wasting taxpayers’ money.
If the SNP are voted into power in Angus it is likely the project would be sent back to the consultation phase, if not scrapped.
Sandy Longmuir of the Scottish Schools Rural Network said: ”Angus Council have just committed taxpayers’ hard-earned cash to a legal challenge which, depending on the views of the new administration, may well be rendered entirely superfluous.
”It has to be remembered that whoever wins this case the real loser is the taxpayer as both sides are funded from tax revenues.”
The council’s proposal seeks to spend £8 million on a new school at Hospitalfield in Arbroath, at the same time shutting Muirfield and Timmergreens primaries.
The Scottish Government halted plans for the project on the grounds that there were flaws in the consultation process and a lack of clarity on road safety measures.
Education Minister Michael Russell then fully refused permission, citing a lack of an auditable paper trail on how the two schools to be shut were assessed for closure.
At a full council meeting in Forfar, members voted to take the decision to the Court of Session in Edinburgh, on the basis that the minister had acted outwith his powers.
Angus Council first lodged papers on the February 24 and Simpson and Marwick Solicitors have been appointed to act on the authority’s behalf.