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

The Bury branch of the National Union of Teachers says there has not been enough consultation over plans to use the controversial Private Finance Initiative 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 complains 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 and where there have been limits to the use of buildings outside school hours."

But Cllr Steve Perkins, executive member for lifelong learning, said: "If we want to make progress, we need to get a scheme submitted by January. However, once we've done that, there's nothing to stop us consulting further, or even withdrawing the scheme completely."