Leader refutes 'worst school estate' claim
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A HIGHLAND MSP has questioned why the region has "the worst school estate" in Scotland despite receiving "the second highest" injection of cash from the Scottish government.
Kate Forbes MSP said Scotland’s Schools for the Future school building programme had invested more than £63m in the Highlands’ schools since 2009 – £50.6 million on new buildings and £12.5 million on refurbishing existing ones.
But despite receiving more cash than the likes of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, she said there were still too many schools needing upgrades.
Miss Forbes said: "These figures speak for themselves. A number of new schools have been built, which is brilliant for the pupils and communities that benefit.
"Despite receiving more funding than nearly all other local authorities, Highland Council still has the worst school estate in Scotland.
"The funding recognises the rurality of Highland Council, but most schools have been built in more densely populated areas like Inverness. It is of particular sadness that this funding has not gone further so that more school buildings could benefit."
But Highland Council leader Margaret Davidson has defended the local authority’s track record, pointing out that it has 204 schools to maintain – more than any other area in the country. She added that Scottish Schools for the Future funding was welcome but added that current levels of funding from Holyrood are "simply not enough to adequately invest in our schools".
She urged the Scottish Government to provide funding levels which recognise the unique challenges facing the Highlands, "and in particular the very large number of schools, many of which are smaller schools, requiring urgent investment".
And she called for it to consider capacity pressures when allocating funding.
"If Kate Forbes wants to help Highland schools, then she should support our asks from government."
