Academies Farce
One of the unintended consequences of Michael Gove’s obsession with academies is that schools are facing farcical turf wars.
But you’d have to go a long way to beat the confrontation between Holte School, Lozells primary school and Mayfield special school in Birmingham.
The three schools share the same site. Holte and Lozells are converting to academy status, but Mayfield is remaining under council control.
Tense discussions are taking place over access arrangements in Mr Gove’s brave new world.
Council leader Sir Albert Bore, remarkably maintaining a straight face, explained: “One of the schools has access to the boiler room, the other one does not. One has access to the thermostat control for the boiler, the other does not.
“The alarm system for the whole of the building is in the boiler room, to which one school does not have access.”
And for the latest update on negotiations, over to cabinet member Brigid Jones: “Both schools now have access to the boiler room, but access to the intruder alarm is yet to be resolved.”
From A sick council, Michael Gove meets Steptoe and Son
The inside track on Birmingham City Council – Paul Dale’s Diary
By: Paul Dale
Published March 5, 2013, in Mr Dale’s Diary, Opinion, Chamberlain Files website.
allianceagainstbirminghamacademies 
Reblogged this on Gogwit's Blog and commented:
This site has always had its idiosyncracies. While an LEA Appointed Governor there in the mid-90s I became aware of this fact. We looked then at ways of working together but this type of situation is the outcome of the academisation process.
Generally speaking, this process sets neighbours and erstwhile co-users of hitherto shared facilities to bicker and fret over ownership, access rights, curtilage, keys and more beside. Generally, co-operation dissolves into pettiness and those of whom we would expect better show themselves in their real form, painted in their true colours.