A Federation plan between primary schools was turned down as governors felt it would add “bureaucratic issues” and not achieve cost savings.

Governors at Ysgol Brynford turned down the proposition of federating with Lixwm Primary School following discussions between the two parties and Flintshire Council education officers.

Brynford governors’ reasons for walking away have been outlined in a document as part of the authority cabinet’s agenda, which will discuss the future of both schools on Tuesday.

Lixwm Primary School faces the threat of closure with the prospect of amalgamating with Ysgol Brynford on a single site moving closer after a federation partner could not be found.

The Diocese of St Asaph has also turned down Lixwm’s proposal to become a church school, but governors continue to investigate avenues that would help keep the school open.

Flintshire Council cabinet members will discuss how to proceed on the future of the schools on Tuesday, with the next step potentially being a statutory consultation on the single site approach.

After meeting with authority education officers last October, governors at Brynford explained their rationale for not wishing to pursue a federal arrangement.

They said: “Federation is likely to cause additional bureaucratic issues, will probably result in a shared teacher and is, in our view, a step on the road to an eventual amalgamation on one site.

“Better to miss out the steps, ‘bite the bullet’ now and move on.

“Brynford School building has many drawbacks and we see a new school (either a new building or an extension to the existing building) as a means to address the inadequacies of the current structure and potentially incorporate an accessible community facility which is currently impractical given the current layout of the building.”

The governing body said bringing the two schools together now “gives certainty and will continue to provide a rural school of a reasonable size that will hopefully have many years of existence”.

Governors also felt cost savings would not be achieved in the same way as merging and feared a Welsh Government lack of majority could impact on funding in later years.

In seeking out new opportunities Lixwm governors had approached Ysgol Y Foel, Cilcain. This school had also rejected the partnership, stating it wasn’t seeking a federation partner.

The school also approached the Diocese of St Asaph, which turned down a request to become a church school but governors have vowed to investigate further.

Should cabinet provide a mandate for officers to consult via statutory proposals for the area, a final decision would be made by next winter and a new school formed by September 2019.

The future of the schools will be discussed on Tuesday at 9.30am at County Hall, Mold.