A BASINGSTOKE school in crisis has governors that want to close it instead of save it.

That is the accusation from a local councillor who has this week resigned from the Interim Executive Board (IEB) of Chineham Park Primary School in Popley, Basingstoke.

Andrew McCormick, a Basingstoke and Deane Borough Councillor for Popley East, has stepped down because he is fed up that members of the IEB will not come out in the open and say they believe the school in Shakespeare Road should shut.

He has told The Gazette that some of the IEB members are Hampshire County Council employees, and he believes they are unlikely to go against their bosses, who are leading the consultation process over the school’s possible closure due to its poor performance and falling pupil numbers.

He claimed: “You wouldn’t go against what your employer was telling you to do. We have no idea what pressure might be applied.”

Next week, parents and pupils will learn whether Hampshire County Council Cabinet education chief Councillor David Kirk has decided the school should close at the end of the 2009-10 academic year.

The IEB was appointed in June to help turn the school round after it was put into special measures following a critical Ofsted report.

Cllr McCormick, who was one of six IEB members, resigned on Tuesday. He said: “I could not continue sitting on a body which admitted to me on Monday evening that it favoured the closure of the school.

“I stand with the parents, the children and community of Popley when I say we want the school to remain open and to have the support it needs to improve. We can all see this year’s Key Stage Two SATs results show an improving picture.”

He added that in the results published last week, the school’s Contextual Value Added – measuring the degree to which the pupils have improved – is better than many schools in the area.

The IEB’s chairman is Mike Hiscock who works for Hampshire County Council in the children’s services department – the same department overseen by Cllr Kirk.

The other IEB members are Janet Ball, Michelle Amos, Nicky Parker and Sarah Kiel. The latter also works for the county council, conducting training for school governors at Hampshire Governor Services.

Cllr Kirk, who is the executive member for children’s services, told parents at a meeting last month that he would largely base his decision over the closure of the school on whether the IEB believes it has a future.

Cllr McCormick said: “It’s passing the buck on to the IEB, saying ‘it’s your problem, deal with it’.”

He added: “The real conflict of interest is between a body which is ‘minded’ to close the school, and which won’t discuss the closure consultation with parents in case they find this out, but at the same time is stating in public that they are working hard to improve standards at the school.”

Mr Hiscock was asked to discuss Cllr McCormick’s comments with The Gazette but declined to do so.

He provided a written statement saying: “We thank Cllr McCormick for his support as a governor and member of the IEB and are sorry that he has decided to resign from the board.

“The decision whether or not to close the school will be made by Hampshire County Council and the IEB will not comment further on this matter at this stage.

“The IEB has been formed to establish a secure basis for future improvement of the school and the promotion of high standards of educational achievement. The IEB is totally committed to working closely with the school to ensure that all children achieve their full potential.”

Cllr Kirk denied there is any conflict of interest for members of the IEB who work for the county council.

He said: "Like any other school governing body, the IEB at Chineham Park Primary School is independent of the local authority. The suggestion that the county council is in anyway trying to influence the view of the IEB is simply not true."

Parent Sharon Lunnon, who is leading the campaign to save the school, said the news that the IEB is in favour of the school closing had not come as a shock.

She added: “I thought that all along. I know Andrew McCormick struggled with the way things have been and he’s felt stifled. He has been told to be quiet a lot. They (the IEB) haven’t been forthcoming with things. We have asked for a meeting and that hasn’t happened.”