The dangers on being a decision free zone

I attended a brilliant if at times heated and challenging meeting of Portobello High school parents last night.

Brilliant because of the sheer passion for parents for education, campaigning for a school that their own children are unlikely to experience.

Heated because the person who the parents really wanted to question was not there (the Convener of Education, Children and Families) who sent four slides of bullet points instead, (no I have not made that up… I couldn’t!)

Hopeful because there is a sign that the SNP/Libdem administration are beginning to see the political reality and suggesting that instead of building 5 schools at once (as would have happened had we been in power) they only have money for one or two and so they should have a phased programme.

I will be arguing that Portobello should be in the first part of that phased programme. I suggested that it could be funded through a local trust to maximise the return from the present site, a suggestion which seemed to go down well.

As ever, of course, what this takes is decisions, something this administration is not good at….