Anger at decision to close school without consultation

THE decision to close a growing, second-level school in Galway without consulting staff or parents was sharply criticised by teachers yesterday.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) has received legal advice that the disbandment of the school board at Seamount College in Kinvara is in breach of the Education Act.

The western province of the Sisters of Mercy told the board and teachers last October that it had decided no more girls would be enrolled and that the school would be closed on a phased basis. The board was given less than a week’s notice by the trustees that they were being replaced by a single manager to oversee the closure.

Seamount staff member Christina Kennedy told the ASTI annual convention in Sligo yesterday that teachers were shocked and appalled. “It’s a thriving school where enrolment was growing, so teachers and parents find it unacceptable,” she said. “If consultation had taken place with parents, teachers and the community, alternative arrangements could have been put in place for a new school if necessary.”

Education Minister Mary Hanafin said it is far too short notice for a school’s trustees to be able to announce in September that it will be shut down the following September.

“That’s something I would like to see changed in the next couple of years,” said Ms Hanafin.