Jean Armstrong, holding copies of the Lisnaskea petitions collected in support of Lisnaskea High School staying open. Also in the picture are other members of the group who are fighting to keep the school open. They are, Shirley Morrison, Heather Cleave, George Morrison, Marty Moffatt, Christina Beacom and Phylis Beacom gkfh36
TOMORROW NIGHT, Wednesday, Lisnaskea Community Action Group will present their case for the survival of the town’s High School which is under the threat of closure.
The document will be submitted to the Department of Education in response to the development proposal put forward by the Western Education and Library board to close the Lisnaskea High School and merge it with Devenish College, with a view to a new build.
And tomorrow night, chairman of the group Doreen Mullan, said the group will reveal what they have spent the last number of weeks and months working on.
The group is made up of parents whose children are currently at the school, some of the board of governors, and people in business in the community.
“We held a meeting and invited the principal and the board of governors to discuss the closure and merger and to see if we could change their minds,” explained Doreen.
“They made the decision based on the falling numbers attending the school and on the financial difficulties that the school is in as a result of that.”
She said that it was agreed upon that if anything that had not yet been explored was discovered, then the consideration of the opening of the school would be a possibility.
“It was agreed that we would carry out a community impact assessment on the school and the proposal and a consultant has been appointed.”
The group claim to have over 3,000 signatures from the surrounding community supporting the school to stay in Lisnaskea.
“Both the petition and letters have been widely supported by all sections of the community,” said Doreen.
“Our main goal is to stop the closure and merger with Devenish College as the action group and local community do not believe that to be the best option for the children from the area or for the community.
“This is now an opportunity for the community to come together and work together for a better future for the children from south Fermanagh,” she added.
The public meeting will highlight the findings of the community impact assessment, this report will then be submitted to the Department of Education as part of the development proposal and within a few weeks the Minister of Education will make a decision what to do about the school.
Members of the public, local businesses, past pupils, present parents whose children who attend the school and parents of children who could come to the school in the future are invited to attend tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7.30pm in the assembly hall of Lisnaskea High School.
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