A fresh row broke out yesterday among rival councillors over the legacy of education chiefs in Aberdeen.
Councillors on the education committee were asked to approve a report which will provide the basis of a 12-page publication, on the “legacy” of the city council since 2012.
It came just days after tensions flared between the Labour and SNP groups on the communities, housing and infrastructure committee over a similar report.
Committee convener Angela Taylor had moved forward a motion to approve it, but was opposed by the SNP’s Alex Nicoll.
Mr Nicoll praised officers, teachers and pupils but said the report did not give a “holistic” view of the “successes and failures” of the education directorate.
He said: “Our staff have gone above and beyond the call of duty time and time again but there are lessons that have to be learned and they have not been included in this report.”
But this resulted in a robust response from the opposite side of the chamber with councillors Alan Donnelly and Neil Cooney arguing their administration had turned education around in the city compared with their nationalist predecessors.
Mr Cooney said: “This report would not have been possible five-years-ago because the SNP decided we didn’t need to have a directorate, and we all saw where that led us – school closures across the city and low morale at the chalk face.”
Finance chief Willie Young and council leader Jenny Laing accused the nationalists of trying to score political points through “negative” and “unacceptable criticism” of officers.
But opposition leader Stephen Flynn said the over-spend and delays on projects such as the new Lochside Academy, which will cost about £15million more than originally expected, could not be ignored.
