TEACHERS have accused Bury Council of rushing to mortgage off local schools.

The Bury branch of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) says there has not been enough consultation over plans to use the controversial Private Finance Initiative (PFI) to pay for improvements.

Town hall bosses are looking at the PFI to attract up to £40 million to replace Radcliffe and Coney Green High Schools with a new school, and to refurbish/rebuild Derby High School and Tottington High School.

A report going to the council's executive on December 18 suggests submitting a bid by January 3 and spending £100,000 on consultants.

But the NUT complaints that a detailed feasibility report has not yet been made available, and that most discussions have been behind closed doors.

Helen Andrews, NUT secretary, said: "The NUT would welcome new or refurbished schools. However there appears to be no plan for secondary education in Bury over the next 10-20 years. We know pupil rolls are falling and this needs to be managed effectively.

"We do not believe that PFI is the best way forward; it would involve mortgaging schools, which would then no longer belong to the local authority.

"There are many examples of PFI schemes with problems; where schools have had to pay extra from their budgets, where specifications have not met school needs, where there have been limits to the use of buildings outside school hours."

She added: "PFI is a complex process. It should not be rushed. There should be openness and debate. Instead the council seems determined to rush forward into a scheme that would bind schools into expensive contracts lasting over 20 years."

But Councillor Steve Perkins, executive member for lifelong learning, defended the tight timetable.

"If we want to make progress, we need to get a scheme submitted by January," he said. "If we don't make it, then we are not in the frame at all.

"However, once we've done that, there's nothing to stop us consulting further, or even withdrawing the scheme completely. Nothing stops in January."