An Aberdeenshire primary school forced shut because of an oil leak would need almost £900,000 to be made safe again.
Gartly School, near Huntly, was closed in December 2018 after children were arriving home feeling sick and “stinking of kerosene”.
It is currently cordoned off with warning signs, due to soil contamination under the boiler room and main hall.
The school’s 23 pupils and nursery attendees are currently being taught several miles away at Rhynie.
Last night dozens of parents and community members arrived at a heated public meeting to discuss the future of the school.
Many voiced their support for the building to be re-instated, describing it as the “heart of the community.”
But Aberdeenshire Council’s head of property, Allan Whyte, said there are limited options in this regard due to the underground pollution.
He told the meeting: “The contamination remains underneath the boiler room and part of the school hall.
“We would need to remove the boiler room and replace the boiler itself, and the contaminated soil would have to be carefully excavated.”
The affected parts of the school would then need rebuilt.
It is estimated that this work would cost £872,000 – on top of the £451,000 which the council has already spent during the school’s closure.
The meeting was told that razing the building, then removing the contamination and landscaping the site would cost around £250,000.
A number of options were presented to the meeting, including keeping Gartly a permanent – but independent – part of Rhynie, in line with the current arrangements.
It was also suggested that the school could merge with another, which would be expanded to cope with the increased demand.
The Gartly community is now being asked to consider the possibilities in an informal local consultation.
A further public meeting to look at these results is to be scheduled for mid-March.
Head of education Vincent Docherty said: “A lot of work was done towards the end of last year to look at technical options for reinstating the school and only one of those – part demolition and rebuild – is feasible due to the nature of the contamination on the site.
“We are now also considering other options and in order to do that our first priority is engaging with the community.
“While closure is a possibility, we are in the early stages of weighing up options.
“If closure was deemed to be the most appropriate route to take this would be subject to a statutory process involving the community, the Scottish Government and elected members.”
He added: “There is a presumption against the closure of rural schools and we are committed to exploring all the options available to us.
“The safety and wellbeing of children and staff has and will continue to be of paramount importance, and we aim to provide the best possible educational experiences for our young people at the same time as achieving best value for money and the best outcomes for our communities.”
