Fee-paying schools have €3k more per pupil for supports

The average fee-paying school has €3,200 more per pupil for extra teachers and other supports than free schools, analysis shows.

However, it could cost taxpayers at least €23.5m a year if all 55 of the schools joined the free education system, as they would regain salaries and grants not currently paid by the State.

As Education Minister Ruairi Quinn faces pressure from within Labour to reduce State funding to the sector, a detailed analysis of the sector reveals they charge fees ranging from €2,500 to €10,000 a year.

The analysis ordered by Mr Quinn in 2011 also shows that:

* Nine schools charge over €6,000 a year and have an average €2.2m in discretionary income, ranging from €1.08m to €4.7m;

* Seven schools charge €2,500 to €3,000, with discretionary income ranging from €326,000 to €1.4m, or €696,000 on average;

* Two thirds of the 25,500 students in fee-paying schools are charged annual fees over €4,000.

They generate €117m in fees between them but this is offset by unpaid fees, loan repayments, and the reduced amount they get from the Department of Education towards salaries and grants.

The remaining €81.3m gives the average fee-paying school an advantage of almost €1.5m over other second-level schools.

This is equivalent to €3,177 per student more, but is as high as €4,000 in 15 schools, with over €2m each available to them.

The discretionary income ranges from just €112,000 to €4.7m, depending largely on student numbers and fees.

Mr Quinn did not offer any comment with the report, but his spokesperson said it will inform future policy decisions in this area. It uses unaudited data provided by all but four of the 55 schools on fee incomes, based on figures for last year ahead of a further increase to their pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) from next autumn.

It shows taxpayers would have to pay €8.2m more in teacher salaries and €15.3m in grants if they all returned to the free scheme, although the total would be closer to €30m after next September’s PTR rise.

The two-point increase will mean fee-paying schools get a teacher’s salary for every 23 students, compared to 19 students in other schools.

The pressure of lost public funds and families’ difficulties in paying fees saw Kilkenny College announce last week that it would no longer charge for tuition from next autumn.

It follows a similar move by Wilson’s Hospital school in Westmeath in 2011. A handful of other schools are talking to the Department of Education about doing the same.

The report suggests a further increase in fee-paying schools’ PTR to 28:1, a level recommended by An Bord Snip Nua in 2009, would see their overall discretionary funding fall by about 25%. But while six would lose at least half of their leftover funds, 12 of the 55 schools would lose less than 20%. It would cost another 32 schools between 20% and 40% of their discretionary income.