Future of Ballougry Primary School hangs in the balance
Open meeting to be held at the school tomorrow night following Education Authority decision to start a two-month process on school's future
A meeting to discuss the future of Ballougry Primary School is to be held tomorrow night.
Parents, staff and governors are invited to attend the event at the school which begins at 7.30pm.
The meeting has been called following a letter received by the school from the Education Authority (EA) informing them that they intend to start a process regarding the school's future.
The EA's letter, which has been seen by The Derry News, has informed parents, staff and governors of their intention to begin an eight-week consultation ahead of publication of a report regarding the future of Ballougry Primary School.
This process begins tomorrow and will expire on Wednesday, June 29. The EA will be holding a public meeting online on Monday, May 9. For those interested in attending, you are advised to register by emailing: [email protected]
A letter written to the parents and guardians of the school's pupils by Principal Damian O'Kane has also been seen by The Derry News.
In it he writes: “Unfortunately, the Education Authority's Area Planning Department focus on school enrolment numbers and school finances mainly despite the many other qualities schools have, particularly the small rural schools such as ours.”
He goes on to add: “We, myself and the Board of Governors, were as shocked as I know you will be to receive this letter.... We have consistently maintained that Ballougry has made incredible steps forward and we have evidential documents to back this up which we feel the EA have not given due credit to.
“We now need your help, as our dedicated parents and guardians, to inform the Education Authority through this process that we deserve to remain in this community.”