Funding cuts ‘force schools to rely on parents’

Government funding cuts, inability to reclaim Vat and restrictions on bulk buying force schools to rely more on parents to stay open, school managers have said.

The Oireachtas education committee brought in representatives of school managers to discuss how to better manage back-to-school costs for parents. Labour TD and former primary principal Aodhán Ó Riordáin said management groups must show greater leadership and send schools guidelines on costs for parents, particularly on uniform policies.

A survey of West Cork schools by Labour TD Michael McCarthy has found they must run an average five fundraising events a year. But TDs and senators were told that much of the fundraising schools have to do is a direct result of issues politicians can influence.

The Joint Managerial Body (JMB) said the 380 religious-owned secondary schools it represents rely on fundraising for more than 30% of their costs. JMB president Fr Paul O’Connell said they get €90 per pupil less from the Government than community and comprehensive schools, and €212 less per student than vocational schools.

These differences are compounded by last year’s 5% reduction in Department of Education grants, followed by a 2% cut this year, and projected cuts of 2% next year and 1% in 2014 and in 2015.

“How is a school to replace this level of financial loss when basic costs such as electricity, oil, gas, water, refuse charges and insurance have soared in the same period and must be met from the school’s capitation grant?” he asked.

Caoimhín Ó hEaghra, of all-Irish schools’ patron An Foras Pátrúnachta, said payment of department grants in late August would reduce schools’ cashflow problems at the start of term.

Catholic Primary School Managers’ Association general secretary Eileen Flynn said standing charges in energy bills should be looked at by the Oireachtas. “We find that one-third of our gas bill is a standing charge. So we’re paying a fortune in July and August when the school is shut,” she said.

Ms Flynn said schools that tried to organise bulk buying of goods and services were told they would be in breach of competition law. A national procurement service is being set up, but JMB general secretary Ferdia Kelly said it is taking two years to get it running for electricity and schools must also balance the need to save money with supporting local businesses.

Michael Moriarty, general secretary of the Irish Vocational Education Association, said bulk buying in the vocational sector has brought savings of up to 40% in some areas. But he said the charging of Vat to schools is a disincentive to buying more educational technology.

Frustrations on a budget

Two principals outlined the frustration of trying to manage on falling budgets while keeping parents’ costs down:

* Colette Kavanagh of Esker Educate Together National School in Adamstown, Co Dublin, said many parent-teacher associations ran a book club on the same principles as a Christmas club, allowing parents to pay in every week or month and have their children’s books paid for in advance when summer comes.

She said parents of children attending the school “just don’t realise that schools need to fundraise, they find it a very unusual thing to have to do, so it’s consequently more difficult for us to raise funds among our parents”.

* David Campbell of Scoil Ghráinne Community National School, Co Dublin, said individual schools should buy more things in bulk to find savings. “We purchase books, workbooks, copybooks, pens, pencils, crayons and so on, and we have noticed obvious benefits from that. But Vat is payable on everything a school buys.

“If the good people of the Oireachtas managed to exempt schools from Vat, that would immediately and significantly decrease the costs for all concerned, because when you look at the rising costs for parents, you can’t look at those costs in isolation.”