A claim that 21 teaching jobs will be lost if Fife Council’s plans to close seven primary schools go ahead is “difficult to accept”, according to a teaching union.
David Farmer, Fife press spokesman for the EIS (Educational Institute of Scotland), said the union had been given assurances by Fife Council there would be no compulsory redundancies if the schools closed.
He said it was the view of the EIS that staff affected by the potential school closures could be absorbed into other schools in Fife. The union would, however, be concerned if teaching posts were lost through early retirement.
Fife SNP group leader Councillor Peter Grant claimed this week that the jobs of 21 teachers, five other school staff and an unknown number of janitorial staff were at risk.
He claimed that cutting jobs was the only way meaningful savings could be made.
On April 9 Fife Council’s executive committee agreed to pursue consultation on proposals to close Tanshall, Pitcorthie, Rathillet, Dunino, New Gilston, Wellwood and Crombie primary schools, following a five-month review of the school estate.
The council had previously warned the closure of some of Fife’s crumbling schools was “inevitable”, as it battles to bridge a £70 million funding gap.
Council leader Alex Rowley made it clear the savings from the proposed school closures would be minimal and later revealed the council was exploring other efficiencies, including the possibility of pupils having Friday afternoons off to reduce the council’s use of costly supply teachers.
Mr Farmer told The Courier: “The EIS has 39 members in total across the seven schools. That could be the total number of staff but even if there are non-members it is highly unlikely that the total number of staff would be in the high forties. The suggestion that half of the teaching posts would be lost is difficult for the EIS to accept.
“The council has a managing change policy which would kick in and there have already been repeated assurances about no compulsory job losses.
“I take the point about posts being lost through staff retiring early and then the post not being filled. That is something which we need to monitor very closely, remembering that our expectation is that service delivery would continue at the same level. That said, losing half of the posts currently available seems very unlikely.
“I think it is important to recall that the criteria and figures upon which the decisions to consult on proposed closures were compiled by the previous administration.
“The view of Fife EIS is that no matter who formed the administration, there would have been a programme of closures.”
Asked how the proposed school closures was affecting teachers’ morale, Mr Farmer said: “It depends what happens. The uncertainty can produce stress, produce a negative reaction. We have a job to do to reassure staff.
“Part of the reason we do not have a blanket policy is because we cannot play one school off against another. It’s quite right that parents in Tanshall should fight to retain their school but if they say ‘why don’t you close another school instead?’, it would be difficult for us to get involved in their campaign as we might have members in both schools.
“The starting point for us is that schools play an important role in the community. Our position is that we are stuck in the middle. In any programme of school closures, people are quite right to protect what’s in their community. I know, as a parent, I would be unhappy if the primary school my kids went to was going to close.”