Dumfries and Galloway Council Elected Members urged to vote for an immediate moratorium on the mothballing policy for schools

Call for Dumfries and Galloway Council Elected Members to vote in favour of the Urgent Motion calling for an immediate moratorium on the mothballing policy for schools and for community impact to be embedded in a future mothballing policy.

The Glenkens & District Community Action Plan Steering Group welcomes this Urgent Motion from Dougie Campbell and Andy McFarlane which will be considered at the Dumfries and Galloway Council Meeting on 27th February and has contacted all Elected Members (see list of Elected Members here) asking them to support the Motion. It also thanks Malcolm Johnstone, Convener, for allowing this Urgent Motion to be included on the Agenda.

The current accelerated mothballing process at Dalry Secondary School appears to be being deliberately used by the Education Department to sidestep the need either to consult formally on closure or to create mitigation plans with regard to mothballing that will minimise the impact on Glenkens young people and the wider community. It is also at odds with current local and national policies on community engagement and how to tackle depopulation. Good education provision is important not only for the people currently living here and businesses based here but also to attract businesses and families to move to the area. More homes, jobs and businesses are key to the future of our area. A key factor in people deciding to live here will be access to good education.

Allowing this aggressive use of the current mothballing policy by the Education Department to continue will not just disadvantage the young people and communities of the Glenkens, but potentially all of our small rural schools, accelerating rural depopulation and working in direct opposition to the Council’s Local Outcomes Improvement Plan outcomes and the Scottish Government Action Plan to Address Depopulation.

The Elected Members have been urged work on a cross party basis and to vote in favour on the Motion to ensure that the wider socio-economic impacts are properly considered in any decision with this widespread community impact.

The Agenda for the meeting can be found on the Dumfries and Galloway Council website.