A Falkirk councillor has been reprimanded for suggesting a report on plans to mothball Blackness Primary School was not "honest".
During a debate at Falkirk Council' s education committee, Labour group leader Anne Hannah said that while the report made clear the benefits for children being educated in a larger school it did not include the many good points of small schools.
Blackness Primary currently has just eight pupils, four of whom do not live in the catchment area, and the council's policy is to consider mothballing when a school roll falls below ten pupils from the catchment area.
Read more: Falkirk Town Hall closure consultation branded a sham by angry campaigner
Mothballing means the school is closed temporarily but numbers are reviewed at least once a year to see if it should open again.
At the moment, numbers in Blackness are so low that only one class is operating and education chiefs believe that children will have better opportunities to learn in a larger school.
The meeting was told that feedback from families with children at the most recent Falkirk district schools to be closed - Bothkennar and Limerigg - had given positive feedback on the process.
The head of education, David Mackay, said: "They've developed new friendships, they've been participating in a much broader range of activities in the schools and the parents have reported very positively to us on the impact on their mental health and well-being."
Mr Mackay added that being in a larger primary school was also helping pupils making the transition to secondary school.
The committee's teacher representative, John Chalmers, agreed that once a school roll gets very low children "don't get social interaction with people of a similar age".
But Cllr Hannah was annoyed that the report made no mention of the many plus points of smaller schools.
"I would have hoped that our officers would have given us balanced reports that gives the pros and cons and allow politicians to make the decision," she said.
Cllr Hannah, who represents the Lower Braes, said that her own daughter had attended California Primary School where she had thrived - and she was visibly emotional recalling how one young boy had said he liked the school "because I don't get bullied".
"I would like an honest report that gives us the pros and the cons and not be asked to vote for a pig in a poke," she said.
The leader of the council, Cecil Meiklejohn, said she had to caution Cllr Hannah about suggesting that the report was misleading.
Cllr Hannah apologised and said: "Perhaps 'honest' was the wrong word to use - I would like to see a balanced report."
Councillor Meiklejohn said: "No-one is saying that small schools are bad but there is a level at which a small school becomes detrimental to children's education and that is where we are now reaching."
Mr Mackay agreed that small schools could be very good but said that the reports Cllr Hannah was referring to were about schools that have around 50 pupils or more.
There was also confusion as members were told that there was no parent council in Blackness Primary, after Cllr Robert Spears said they had been in contact.
Falkirk Council's head of planning and resources, Gary Greenhorn, said he was not aware of the parent council but assured members they would make contact and include members in the process.
Several councillors said that they had been through similar consultations in recent years and agreed that the end result had been a positive one.
Councillor Laura Murtagh, the SNP's education portfolio holder, said: "As a parent and someone from a small, rural community I entirely understand there will be mixed emotions amongst the community and of course it's right that questions are raised and those voices are heard.
But both she and her ward colleague Cllr Gary Bouse agreed that feedback after closing Bothkennar PS had been surprisingly positive.
And Councillor James Kerr, who previously represented the Upper Braes, said the children who have moved from Limerigg "fitted in well" to Slamannan Primary.
The consultation will include all parents with children living in the catchment area for Blackness Primary.
