EDUCATION bosses at Darlington Borough Council have requested a meeting with officials from the Department of Education and Skills after the town missed out on vital funding.
The council, which is also the local education authority, had hoped to be part of the next few waves of the government's much-heralded Building Schools for the Future programme - which promises to transform every secondary school in the country.
However, less than two weeks ago, it discovered it had missed out, and might not benefit from a cash injection for nine years.
The authority is now awaiting a response from the Government. It hopes to meet with education officials before Christmas to discover when the town might qualify for the money.
Once it knows, it can plan how to fund building repairs and improvements at the town's secondary schools in the interim period.
Darlington Borough Council had asked for about £20m.
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