children to Northlands, could be soon marching in the streets if a majority support this step.

At a press conference in the Dellwood School gymnasium yesterday, Mrs. Mary Samuels, who chairs the Dellwood restructuring committee, said the march depended on whether parents voted for it.

It is expected to be on the agenda at a Parent Teachers meeting on Thursday.

The press conference was a response to Government's announcement last week that it will make Northlands Secondary School a primary school for Dellwood students in 1997.

That in spite of meetings and presentations from Dellwood parents who say Northlands is inadequate for children between five and ten years old.

Mrs. Samuels, reading from a prepared statement, said parents rejected the plan and said the Minister's "inability or unwillingness to embrace the social ramifications of (the) issue is characteristic of a dictatorial Government''.

But Education Minister, the Hon. Clarence Terceira, said Government had left no stone unturned in its search for the best solution to the problem.

"Government, not Dr. Terceira, though I am a part of the Government, made this decision,'' he said. "After giving due consideration to all the factors, I have no further comment on this issue.'' Mrs. Samuels swept aside the Minister's statement that the move to Northlands was cost effective in the long run.

"We too are cost-conscious,'' she said. "We are conscious of where Government chooses to spend public funds and where Government chooses not to spend public funds.

"What message are we sending our young people in the community when our prisoners have better educational tools and facilities in a Government prison than our children have in a public school?'' Mrs. Samuels said Government's proposed underpass, that is aimed to protect children from traffic, was flawed because it would be difficult to maintain by lock and key and the construction requirements would cut into an already small playing field.

Railings, which have been proposed for the buildings on the second floor, are no better, she said, because children would be exposed to the elements and "railing would make the school look like a prison''.

Last week Dr. Terceira said using the former Technical Institute site on Roberts Avenue as an alternative to Dellwood for the new middle school in 1997, would require "construction of virtually a new school,'' costing about $22 million.

And it would have to be built at the same time as six other school projects were under way, causing further delays in the school reform plan. By contrast, less than $1 million will have to be spent on Northlands, he said. But Mrs.

Samuels said Dr. Terceira was misleading the public with these figures because he did not factor in the cost of turning Dellwood primary into a middle school.

This, she said, could cost in the region of $10 million.

But Dr. Terceira maintained that the move was in everyone's best interest because Dellwood had technology facilities which a middle school could use but a primary school could not. And it required little upgrading to meet the 1997 restructuring deadline.