School’s income slashed by €39,000

THE annual income of a top west Cork secondary school will plummet by €39,000 this year as a result of grant cutbacks, while subject choice and some teaching jobs will be affected, the headmistress has warned.

Sacred Heart Secondary School in Clonakilty will lose €39,000 because of cutbacks in the books grant, the transition year grant, the grant underpinning the Leaving Cert Applied Programme, the sciences grant, and the grants underpinning the provision of Home Economics and the school music orchestra, according to school principal, Sr Eilis McGrath.

This represented a total estimated drop in income to the school of about 25%, she warned.

“All together the loss of these grants means a loss of €39,000 to the school’s income. We are very concerned about that. We are particularly concerned about the loss of the books grant, which is used to run a books rental scheme and to help children from disadvantaged families.”

The changes in pupil teacher-ratio announced by Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe would also affect subject choices on offer to the school’s 570 students, she warned. As yet, no decision had been taken, but a number of subjects would be affected.

The all-girls’ school boasts a staff of 40 full-time and part-time teachers — and staffing levels would also be affected, warned Sr Eilis.

“We will not be able to keep some — we will not have jobs for them,” she said, adding that the cuts hit “very much at the heart of education”.

“This is about the very quality of learning in the classroom,” she said, adding that substitute cover for teachers who may be sick for the day or who were away from the classroom on school business would be affected.

“These cuts will hit the core curriculum around areas such as fieldwork for the sciences and in geography,” she predicted.

Sr Eilis highlighted the problems facing the school at the school’s annual Awards Evening, which was attended by more than 200 guests including the Mayor of Clonakilty, Councillor Michael O’Regan and UCC lecturer, food historian and journalist, Regina Sexton. In all about 10 awards were presented to about 70 students, among them a number of awards of full attendance presented to 56 pupils as well as prizes for academic excellence including for best performances in the state examinations and a distinguished past pupil award.