An unusual representative of Carmarthenshire County Council will be facing down villagers and campaigners at a Schools Protest at Mynyddcerrig at the weekend. Cymdeithas yr Iaith will be introducing a steamroller as the County Council representative at the meeting to symbolise the way in which the Council is intent on forcing through it's unpopular strategy of mass school closures and steamrolling over any opposition.

Addressing the Protest Meeting - organised outside the school by Villagers, the Schools' Forum, and the Society at 1pm on Saturday at Mynyddcerrig - Cymdeithas Education Spokesperson Ffred Ffransis will refer to the statement made by Coun Clive Scourfield (Cabinet member with responsibility for education) that "he did not see what more the council could do except holding the one statutory meeting with staff, parents and governors during the consultation over closure." Mr Ffransis responded,"The Council could have followed the lead of Cardiff Council and put their whole strategy out for County-wide consultation before starting to take out individual schools.""The Council could have followed the lead of Ceredigion Council and organised Open Meetings in each area to ask people their views rather than trying to force through the Council's agenda.""The Council could have attempted a genuine consultation by discussing all the different options for schools like Mynyddcerrig instead of proposing it's own favoured option of mass closures and centralised new Area Schools for every single part of the county.""The Council could have recognised the massive progress in educational standards at Mynyddcerrig, and have encouraged this by formalising co-operation with neighbouring schools.""The Council could have taken seriously it's own Corporate Strategy aim of safeguarding Welsh-speaking communities by recognising a school as one of it's main assets and engines for regeneration.""The Council could have gone for positive rather than negative rationalisation by promoting better community use of the facilities at Ysgol Mynyddcerrig rather than just closing them down.""The Council could have sought to combine budeget for Statutory Education, Community Education, and Community Regeneration to upgrade the facilities at schools such as Mynyddcerrig.""The Council could have conducted Impact Studies of the effect of Closure on the language, the community and the environment.""Above all the Council could have worked with parents and governors instead of constantly trying to undermine them and see them as obstacles.""Councillors such as Mr Scourfield could have stood up for their local communities rather than repeating parrot-fashion the utterings of the Council Officers. They could have worked with local people who feel passionately for the education of their children and for the future of their communities rather than slapping them down.""As the Council refuse to give the people of Carmarthenshire the right to decide about the direction of the general education strategy, our only option is to call on everyone to support the fight of each school which is being threatened contrary to the wishes of the local community. That fight has begun here in Mynyddcerrig."