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Political row over budget cuts as schools raise fears over road safety
ByFaizaAfzaalandEric Beard sworth
faiza.afeaal@
jpress.co.uk
Athreatto cut county council fundsforlollipoppatrolshas * been lifted atthe last minute in themidstofapoliticalrow,
Schools in the Ribble Valley and elsewhere in Lancashire were alarmed to learn that Lancashire County Council’s ruling Labour Cabinet had agreed to cut contributions towards the patrols, which would have axed the £4,000 annual con-
. tribution to 16 posts in the Ribble Valley.
- Schools would have had
to pay for school crossing pa trols as early as September this year out of their own budgets.
But as h ead teacher s
slammed the move and Con servatives prepared for battle when the cuts come up at to night’s county council meet ing, Labour claimed it was never their intention to make the cuts after all. County Councillor.David Bor row, deputy leader and finance portfolio holdi er, said: “It is not, and - never has been, Cabi-
; net’s intention to ask schools to fund the full
cost of school crossing patrols from their own budgets. “It is unfortunate that there has been some confu
sion amongst those who have not been close to ongoing dis cussions on the best way to fund these services." He added: “I will be pro
posing a budget adjustment - on Thursday at the meeting
of full council to clarify for all members that we propose to set aside funds from reserves to ensure that we can take the appropriate time to consult properly with the Schools Fo-
which we are not legally obliged to provide, and which were pre viously provided free of charge, such as school crossing patrols.” Ribble Valley Tory County
" “ “ iw i l l th e re - ‘ W e M i l f ig h t p ro - fo re be re com - POSCO C lltS in fu n d - m e n d in g th a t ■ in g ’ - s a y T o r ie s th e re is no change ‘f t w a s n e v e r OUP in -
m th e c u rre n t po- te n t io n tO C Ilt fu n d s ’ S ltio n m 2 0 1 5 /l6
an d w e w ill n o t “ .« * P O n d la D O U r I ik ju iM
be asking schools to share the costs of crossing patrols from September 2015.' Earlier,astheproposalledto
aTory-Labour rumpus, County Coun. John Fillis, cabinet mem ber for highways and transport; had said difficult decisions had to be made to save money. He said: “We must look at every ar ea of our spending very close ly, particularly those services
Councillor Alan Schofield said: “There are other ways savings can be made without putting children’s fives at risk. . “In effect, the
County Coun c i l is forcing
headteachers to choose be tween spending their school’s scarce resources on the safety of children on their way to and from school, or on their educa tion. The Conservative Group will of course be opposing this bad proposal at the meeting to night.” Before Labour moved
to defuse the row, worried headteachers were saying chil
dren’s lives would be put at risk if the crossing wardens lost theirjobs.
' ’ Mr.' R o b e r t M aude , .headteacher at Chatburn Pri- ‘mary School, said: “What price "can you put on a child’s safety? . We have had a school crossing
. patrol for the past 27 years and it is an essential service. Having to fund their wages will result in a greater financial burden on the school.” Mrs Alison Callon, head at
Pendle Primary School, Clit- heroe, said: “We are concerned that child safety may be com promised.” Barrow PrimarySchoolgov-
ernor and Ribble Valley'coun- cillor Terry Hill said: “Small schools face a tough choice be tween the patrols and teaching. It’s absolutely appalling.”
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