City makes 'desperate' appeal for school cash

THE cost of rebuilding and refurbishing five crumbling schools has soared by £20 million as council chiefs prepare to make a "last ditch" appeal to the Scottish Government to save the project.

Education leader Marilyne MacLaren said the modernisation scheme – now set to cost £120m – will not go ahead unless ministers help address an "enormous shortfall" in the budget.

She said the entire children and families department had £30m to spend over the next three years – which would only be enough to meet interest payments on loans needed to carry out the work.

The five schools included in the "third wave" of upgrades are Boroughmuir, Portobello, James Gillespie's High Schools, St John's Primary and St Crispin's Special School.

Campaigners today said they were angry and frustrated at the "stand-off" developing between City Chambers and Holyrood.

The council will submit a £45,000 feasibility study, detailing costs, time scales and options for rebuilding or renovating, to the Government next month.

Cllr MacLaren said: "It will give a costing for each school and show there is a desperate need for these schools.

"It's a last ditch at persuading them that we are really desperate. It's completely out of the question unless we get help from the Scottish Government."

The council will make a bid to the Scottish Futures Trust – the SNP's alternative to PFI – when it is established.

But with the average new secondary school costing £30m, Cllr MacLaren warned: "The longer we leave it, the more costs will rise."

As it stands, the council will be responsible for repaying loan charges – an estimated £2m a year for each school – and would not get any additional help from the Scottish Government.

Cllr MacLaren said: "Multiply that by five. We only have £30 million in the capital budget for the next three years and we have more projects to fund.

"It's an enormous shortfall. Even with the Scottish Futures Trust, unless we were assured of financial support to pay back the loan charges, we couldn't even enter into it."

Mike Robb, of Portobello High's parent council, said 12 months ago confidence was high that a new school would be built.

He added: "(We have gone] to a situation where we now have almost a stand-off between the government and council about how this is going to be funded.

"There is a great anger that our local and Scottish Government politicians can't sort this out."

Former Labour council leader Ewan Aitken also hit out at the SNP Government.

He said: "They made a promise to match our building programme brick for brick and they have fallen at the first hurdle."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said councils had been awarded "record levels" of funding and now had to set their own spending priorities.

She added: "That means councils, including Edinburgh, have much more freedom to determine how to use their resources in the way that best meets the needs of their communities."