Hear All Sides

Yet Newcastle who have a backlog of repairs of nearly four times as much only got £4.5m. This just does not add up, unless I have my maths wrong.

I was also wondering how Darlington Borough Council (Labour) can allocate this £20.6m to Carmel and Branksome, firstly because they are talking about closing Branksome and secondly, the decision to close Hurworth Comprehensive has not been made and it may not close, so Hurworth will need some of that money for its repairs?

I am sorry but none of this seems fair. - Julie Jones, Hurworth.

NO SENSE

TOO many things about Eastbourne and Hurworth Schools do not make sense.

Eastbourne School came out of special measures a year ago while under a Federation headed by Mr Farrar who happily took the credit.

In March Mr Farrar praised the Head, Mrs Pemberton, and declared the Federation was to end because of its success.

Weeks later Mrs Pemberton was suspended.

Then Mr Farrar and Mrs Asquith announced Eastbourne's closure and a new Hurworth School be built in Eastbourne's catchment area.

The "lucky" Hurworth staff were "guaranteed" jobs provided no fuss despite lots of horrified parents.

Now we're told it's to be an Academy. Aren't Academies supposed to replace struggling schools? So why Hurworth, a successful school, and Eastbourne when it was until Mrs Pemberton's resignation an improving school.

We as taxpayers and parents have a right to know how money is spent and have a say in whether education in the town is privatised. - G Alexander, Darlington.

FREEDOM

WHOEVER invented the new Freedom of Information Act should have given it a separate name when used in the same sentence as Darlington Borough Council.

I waited 21 working days only to be told in an answer to four questions "a response will be provided within five working days" Why? Wasn't a month long enough?

I know I am not the only person in Share (Save Hurworth and Rural Education) who is getting the run around from the council, so I suggest that everyone with a complaint reports them immediately to the information commissioner, as this has gone on for to long now. - Ian White, Hurworth

EDUCATION VILLAGE

TAKEN together, the recent articles and letters in the Echo give the impression of a local education authority in complete disarray over its handling of education in general.

The authority is increasingly losing the confidence of the electorate. It is true that GCSE grades are slowly getting better but if 44 per cent of pupils are still missing out on good passes, secondary education cannot be said to be satisfactory.

Darlington results may look all right when compared to others, but they still leave a lot to be desired. The mess the council has got itself into over the education village cannot be excused.

Class sizes in primary schools mean a quarter of pupils are not getting sufficient teacher support. No wonder secondary schools and later, universities, have trouble with low achievement in mathematics and English. More money could be spent improving the position at primary level if some of the resources which the council spends on its grandiose schemes were diverted to areas of greatest need.

At secondary level, two schools were allowed to deteriorate so that they were eventually put under special measures so, in one case, there is to be a merger with an excellent school in order to solve the problem.

And the council cannot make up its mind as to which course it should take and the uncertainty is not going to help anyone. - RK. Bradley, Darlington.

COUNCIL SEATS

WITH boring predictability the Labour Party is guaranteed to be elected time and time again in many of Darlington's council seats whether they deserve to be or not.

With this unhealthy fact in mind it could be suggested that what we have is an elected dictatorship.

Labour's anti-democratic behaviour is exposed by their pushing on with such unpopular schemes as the tearing out of High Row's unique and cherished features, the demolition of the mock Tudor White Horse Hotel and the closure of Hurworth School, all against the wishes of the vast majority.

No matter how they perform, Labour councillors can feel comfortable that people will vote for them on such politically unsophisticated reasons as "I've always voted Labour" or the dubious and out of date "they stick up for the working-class".

Voters need to wise up, ditch loyalties to their old party, vote tactically and make every councillor nervous that they could be thrown out of their cosy, safe seat next election. This way it will make politicians listen to them and work for them. - Trevor Agnew, Darlington.