Cymdeithas yr Iaith have hit out at the pressure which CarmarthenshireCounty Council have exerted on Ysgol Carreg Hirfaen which is a 3-sitefederation. By changing the funding formula to discriminate againstsmaller schools , and by removing the allowance for federations, theCouncil are trying to force the Governors to close two of the sites inthe small villages of Llanycrwys and Ffarmers. Parents have been givenjust 3 weeks notice that their school sites could close.

Cymdeithas Dyfed organiser Angharad Clwyd said, "This is a federatedschool which has maintained an educational presence for the last decadein a number of small Welsh-speaking communities. It has been sosuccessful educationally that pupil numbers have increased substantiallyover the decade. The Council is using its control of the purse-stringsto force through its dogmatic fit-all policy of centralised Area Schoolsand is pressing the Governors to do their dirty work for them. TheCouncil have unilaterally changed the funding formula insisting thatthey are not obliged to consult at all on this.Ms Clwyd added, "This is not even an issue of cost, but rather an issueof Real Estate. The Council are willing to pay £25,000 for a glorifiedportacabin at Cwm-an to accommodate all the extra children from the twosmaller villages, and are willing to ignore all environmental concernsby paying tens of thousands of pounds each year to transport the samllchildren backwards and forwards. If they just gave this money back tothe Governors, there would be no problem in maintaining the successfulfederation and education in all the communities. The real reason forthis move is that they want to sell off the two schools to raise fundsfor their expensive plans for centralised schools, and care not aboutthe educational and social disruption. Why don't they just become EstateAgents ?"Cymdeithas members will be asking Governors (ahead of a meeting withparents tonight) not to co-operate with the County Council. Parents arealso holding an Open Public Meeting on the issue tomorrow (Thursday)evening in Ffarmers at 8pm.