KIRKLEES College has been accused of putting football before education.
Councillors say it is wrong that the college continues to sponsor Huddersfield Town to the tune of £75,000 while planning to axe 50 jobs.
Conservative councillors Donald Firth and Christine Smith are opposing the college’s plans to close its Holmfirth Centre.
They were “incensed” by the sponsorship deal when staff would be made redundant.
Clr Firth said: “It is wrong when a college puts football before education.
“I am incensed by this. People are going to lose their jobs.
“They tried to shut the Holmfirth Centre seven or eight years ago and we fought them off.’’
The councillor for Holmfirth added: “They always say numbers are dwindling, but they’ve got the money for a football team.”
Kirklees College agreed a £75,000 deal with the Terriers to sponsor the club for the 2010-11 season and again for the 2011-12 season, when they could play in the Championship if they win the play-off final a week on Sunday.
Fellow Conservative, Clr Christine Smith, added: “Government grants for colleges should be for education and supporting education.
“It is not for them to use the money for a football club.”
Clr Smith said some of her Kirkburton constituents worked at the Holmfirth Centre and others had benefited from it.
“It is an extremely popular centre. It’s well established and has brought tremendous benefits to so many people.”
But Kirklees College last night defended the move, saying the sponsorship deal had saved them £96,000.
The college says benefits included the Kirklees Charity Gala in aid of Town’s Keep It Up campaign, trainee electricians getting a tour of the Stadium’s electrical set up and construction students making a giant dog bowl for Terry the terrier.
Melanie Brooke, vice-principal for corporate services, said: “Since the college started working with Huddersfield Town, our students have reaped the benefits.
“The free access to the facilities at the Galpharm Stadium has saved the college in the region of £96,000 and has allowed us to put on student events that we would not otherwise have been able to host.
“It has been a unique opportunity for expanding our work with businesses and providing the opportunity for students to showcase their talents on match day and in special events.
“We are positive that replacing traditional college marketing on billboards with offering these experiences to learners to promote the college is the right decision.
“The added bonus is that we get the Kirklees College message out to more people than ever before.”
She added: “We look forward to spreading the message of gaining job-ready skills to an even wider audience in the Championship next season.’’
Kirklees College’s most recent Ofsted report, which rated it as “inadequate” praised the link-up between the college and football team.
The report said: “Several recent collaborative arrangements, such as the partnership with Huddersfield Town Football Club, are innovative and beginning to prove very beneficial for students.”
