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Rethink in merger bid for schools
KEEPING two north Sheffield secondary schools open could cost the city £250 million in lost funding, councillors are being warned.
A revolt by Lib Dem and Green councillors saw Labour's proposals to merge Myers Grove and Wisewood schools thrown out last month after an angry debate.
Council officers were told to come up with proposals which would keep both schools open, even though pupil numbers in the area are falling.
But their report now warns that the Government will not fund plans to rebuild the schools - and if the city footed the bill itself, it would cost council tax payers 27 million.
And it adds that keeping them open could jeopardise a further 250 million of funding earmarked for the next stage of the strategy to refurbish every secondary in the city.
Officers believe the only compromise is to transform Myers and Wisewood into a single split site school, with pupils aged 11 to 13 taught on the Wisewood site and older students attending Myers.
Ministers will only release the 250 million if action is taken to address falling pupil numbers in the area - admissions at Myers have declined by almost 50 per cent in the last three years. Other possible alternatives are to close another school in the north of the city, or to subsidise the schools by around 1 million a year, replacing Government cash that would be lost as pupil numbers go down.
Council chief executive Sir Bob Kerslake said officers were giving their views on the situation as honestly as they could.
"The feeling is that to keep both schools open is unaffordable - we are asking elected members to review and reconsider their decision," he said.
"There is also an added degree of importance in that the decision will also affect other schools."
Executive director for children's services Jonathan Crossley-Holland said councillors would have new information to consider, on the cost to the city of refurbishing both schools, and on the wider consequences for other schools. "We believe the original merger option is still the much better way forward".
The new report on Wisewood and Myers Grove will be considered by the cabinet on July 19, before being debated by the full council on July 25.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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