A letter to the Cabinet - are they listening?

I wrote this to the cabinet tonight - I'll post any responses I might get.

Dear Cabinet Members,

I attended the public consultation meeting at Chapter School tonight. I and many others were surprised that only 2 of the cabinet members were in attendance, my thanks to the 2 who were there (although I am not sure if it was a required duty for them).

I am very disappointed that the decision making panel were not able to benefit from the articulate and heartfelt questions and comments from the floor.

The minutes will show a strong single message that was conveyed, but they will never show the feeling, the pride and the passion with which the views of the voters were delivered, the single clear voice of a group of disparate people all trying to tell the council that 1) they don’t want the proposed solution and most importantly, 2) they support for the viable, rational and reasonable alternative that is being proposed by the pupils, parents, staff and community supporters that support the option outlined by the S.O.C.K. group.

You missed the chance to witness democracy in action, the chance to show the people that they have a voice, that those making the decisions won’t do it in the isolation of balance sheets, theory and second hand reports in a council chamber.

You missed the chance to listen, and therefore you missed the chance to understand.

How do the people of Medway know if they really matter?

To make my views clear I fully support the SOCK alternative, allowing Chapter to become co-educational with a staged intake of boys into year 7, and most importantly, maintain the existing Chapter leadership, management, staff and ethos and allow the Chapter family’s success to benefit all the children of the area – it can work, it involves less disruption and risk to those caught up in the middle and it is built on a proven foundation – NONE of which can be claimed by a yet to be formed, Academy with no foundations and little public support (Rose Collinson did say that there were more voices for the SOCK proposal than there were for the Academy)

I look forward to hearing your comments and responses.