A PARENTS’ CAMPAIGN group has been accused of “grasping straws” in their bid to halt moves to split an Elgin primary school into two while a new school is being built.
This week members of the East End Primary school parent council warned that falling registrations for the new school year pointed to how parents were unhappy at Moray Council’s plans.
Claims that children would be cramped together in new classrooms created from the former Heritage Centre at the school site were roundly dismissed by council education officials – and for a second time the parent council have come into the firing line of Councillor George Alexander, who is vice chair of the children and young people’s services committee.
Parents at the Elgin school and Councillor Alexander previously clashed when he accused them of over-reacting to the situation. This time the Forres councillor dismissed claims that parents were being “put off registering” their children at East End.
Councillor Alexander said: “I really think the East End parents are grasping at straws to try and prove their case, which I think is impossible to prove. Registration may be down at this point – but no one could identify a definite reason for that.
“This is still at the planning stages and some of these complaints are completely irrational. Everything we do is for the benefit of the kids – and when I hear some of the arguments against these proposals I am left dumfounded.”
On Monday insideMoray reported how several parents in the catchment area of the proposed new school whose children would be expected to attend temporarily at East End primary had indicated a preference to have their children moved to a school outside their catchment area.
In response Moray Council officials wrote inviting them to one-to-one meetings in Elgin this week to “discuss their concerns” and allow senior officials to explain the situation.