TORY AGENT SACKS DAVID CLEGG AS SCHOOLS GOVERNOR (Pendle Liberal Democrats)

Pendle Liberal Democrats <info@pendlelibdems.org.uk>

TORY AGENT SACKS DAVID CLEGG AS SCHOOLS GOVERNOR

April 28, 2010 12:49 AM

There is uproar and anger around Lord Street Primary School in Colne after Councillor David Clegg was summarily sacked as a School Governor after 18 years of loyal service including 12 years as the Chairman of the School Governors.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Clegg appears to have been sacked from the Board of Governors by the local Conservative County Councillor and Conservative agent George Askew in his role as the "district co-ordinator". This is a position held under the Code of Practice of Local Authority School Governor Appointments, a new system introduced by the new Conservative administration of the County Council following the elections last June.

Councillor Clegg's term of office ended on 19th February. The first he heard of his sacking came in a terse letter from an official called the "Deputy Team Leader" at County Hall in Preston dated 7th April.

This letter reads: "On this occasion the district co-ordinator has decided not to support your re-appointment as a Local Authority Governor.

David Clegg said: "I am very sorry to have been ditched in this way. I have always worked in the best interests of the school and not in any party political way - running local schools is not the place for political arguments.

"If this is the way that Mr Askew and the Conservatives want to do things now, they no doubt have the power to do so. But it will not be good for either the schools or their party in the longer run."

Tony Greaves said: "In the past when I was a County Councillor for Colne we always made sure that there was a fair balance of appointments. People who had done a good job for a school were not removed for naked party political reasons.

"This cheap and vindictive move by the Conservative party agent has caused a great deal of anger amongst people associated with Lord Street school. I hope he will reflect that his behaviour is not acceptable in a town like Colne."