TIME is running out for people to have their say on a multi-million-pound investment in schools programme.

The closing date for comments in Hartlepool is tomorrow, as part of the second stage of consultations with the public.

Hartlepool Borough Council is preparing to bid for money from the Government's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative, which could see as much as £90m given to Hartlepool, to bring its schools up to 21st Century standards.

Last autumn, the council held the first stage of the consultation, to enable people to find out more about BSF, and to explain the challenges facing Hartlepool's schools - in particular, falling pupil numbers at secondary schools.

To bid for BSF money, Hartlepool must put forward a detailed strategy, explaining how it would use the investment and tackle the challenges.

The council is now running stage two of the consultation, to seek people's views on the options, in particular, for education for 11 to 16-year-olds, and for youngsters with special educational needs.

A detailed consultation document, together with a summary leaflet and a response form, was sent out last month to all Hartlepool families with pre-school, primary school and secondary school children, and a series of public consultation meetings has been held.

The three options for secondary education in the consultation package are:

* Keep six secondary schools at the size they are now.

* Keep six secondary schools, but make some of them smaller.

* Reduce the number of secondary schools to five, by closing Brierton Community School.

The options being consulted on for provision for special educational needs are:

l Keep Catcote School and Springwell School on separate sites as they are now.

* Locate both schools on a single new site.

The consultation documents are available from Liz Eddy on 01429-523733 or at www.hartlepool.gov.uk/ schoolscapital/bsf.

Councillor Pamela Hargreaves, the council's cabinet member for children's services, said: "We want to receive as many comments as possible before we make any formal proposals. It's especially important for parents of very young children to respond, because it's their youngsters who will benefit if the council's BSF bid is successful."

The consultation documents are available from Liz Eddy on 01429-523733 or at www.hartlepool.gov.uk/ schoolscapital/bsf