Galloway and West Dumfries MSP Alex Fergusson and Councillor Finlay Carson, the Conservative candidate for next year’s Scottish Parliament elections have called for the Council to use the surplus in the School Transport Contingency Fund to help Wigtownshire parents continue to transport their children to Kirkcudbright Academy until an alternative bus operator can be found.
MSP Alex Fergusson said:-
“The Council budgeted £25,000 for contingency school transport use in this financial year. It is now recommending that next year’s budget be reduced to £10,000 due to the ‘limited uptake of the funding to date’ this year. That suggests that there is at least £15,000 left in the budget and, given the exceptional circumstances that have hit these parents and pupils, so hard, I call on the Council to use the available funds to help these parents out while other solutions are sought.”
Councillor Finlay Carson said:-
“The affected pupils are at a critical stage in their education, being at the start of a school year. Some will just be settled in, while others will be studying courses in their final year that are not available elsewhere. While the Council has no legal responsibility to transport these pupils on a daily basis, it does have a duty under ‘GIRFEC’ (Getting it right for every child) to minimise any disruption to pupils education, and I cannot think of a better use of the agreed budget funding than ensuring that there is no disruption at all for these pupils.”
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