HERTFORDSHIRE County Council is adopting "a short-term penny-pinching policy" towards funding Bishop's Stortford schools, according to a Liberal Democrat councillor.
Councillor Gerald Francis says the town needs a new secondary school and is calling for an open debate on how the town is going to cater for pupils aged 11 upwards in the future.
Mr Francis said: "While the county council has not formally made up its mind I have a feeling of history repeating itself.
"Bishop's Stortford needs a new secondary school but the county council is trying to avoid the obvious by adding to the size of existing schools.
"This short-term, penny-pinching policy, has already had disastrous results in the primary sector in Bishop's Stortford."
Most existing schools are free to take pupils from Essex, across the Herts county border.
Mr Francis fears expanding these will simply lead to increased intake from other counties whereas a new, council-run school would cater only for Bishop's Stortford youngsters.
He also says the current schools are situated a long way from areas designated for new housing, meaning parents would drive their children to school, increasing traffic congestion.
Keith Emsall, county council portfolio holder for children, schools and families, said: "I don't think there is any justification for what Gerald Francis is saying.
"We would certainly like to increase the number of places in Bishop's Stortford, but there wouldn't be enough pupils to build a new school.
"If there is a need for additional secondary school places in Bishop's Stortford the logical way to provide for it is by expanding current schools."
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