Two school patrons breach PR spending limits
Two school patrons have breached Department of Education limits on spending on promotional materials when seeking parents’ backing to open new schools.
The selection of patrons for start-up schools in areas of growing population has become so competitive that the department had to take control itself of how parental preferences are gathered.
Education Minister Joe McHugh announced yesterday that multi-denominational group Educate Together has been selected to open four new second-level schools to serve communities in Dublin, Galway, Wicklow, Louth and Meath.
During previous parental surveys to help the department’s New Schools Establishment Group (NSEG) determine which patrons had the support of most local families, problems emerged with how applicants gathered names of children who were likely to attend a school under their patronage in an area. This led to significant delays as officials had to verify expressions of interest by parents, and remove those where children were ineligible due either to their age or address.
The new online system run by the Department of Education was open for parents to indicate their preferred patrons for four new second-level schools during June and July. This centralised data collection system saw the number of invalid parental preferences fall from 42% in previous selection exercises to just 14%.
But in a report to the NSEG in mid-October, a department official referred to the code of conduct governing patrons involved in the process, which included a €300 limit on promotional material a patron could use in each school area.
“There are some indications that the code was not fully adhered to by a number of applicant patrons in relation to expenditure limits, either technically or in keeping with the spirit of the code of conduct,” assistant principal officer Lorraine Reilly wrote.
“While there was no discernible material impact on the outcome of the process, it is proposed that the NSEG might consider this matter further,” she wrote.
As well as Educate Together, other patron bodies applying to become patrons in the four areas were the Kildare-Wicklow, Louth-Meath, Galway-Roscommon and City of Dublin education and training boards (ETBs), as well as Scoil Sinéad, Le Chéile Schools Trust, Loreto Education Trust, and the Church of Ireland diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry.
The department did not specify which patrons were involved, but said that one case involved newspaper advertising which an unnamed patron body had said was necessary to invite parents to an information meeting. Another patron explained that part of its spending happened before the patronage process formally opened, and in the same case there was “an element of benefit-in-kind in relation to a small number of items.”
The Department of Education has now adopted the NSEG’s recommendation to increase spending limits for patrons from €300 to €500, including Vat, to cover all promotional activities and not just materials.
A revised code of conduct now also requires prospective patrons to outline notional costs of services provided within existing resources and benefits-in-kind, in addition to previous requirements to provide spending statements and to have receipts, invoices and other and records available for inspection by department officials.
Parents to help select patrons for 12 schools
The Department of Education has said parents will be invited, within weeks, to select patrons for 12 primary schools due to open in September 2019.
The timeline emerged as Education Minister Joe McHugh said Educate Together can open four multi-denominational second-level schools next year following a process that included parents nominating their top pick from prospective patrons.
In Donaghmede/Howth in north Dublin, Educate Together was the first preference of 333 out of 424 (78%) parents, and a similar 75% (481 out of 638 preferences) in Galway City/Oranmore.
The local education and training board (ETB) was the second preference of parents in each area, securing 15% of parental backing in Donaghmede/Howth and 18% in Galway.
The department also sought parental opinion on providers for a new second-level school to serve Laytown, Co Meath, and Drogheda, Co Louth. With 68% of the 507 first preferences, Educate Together was the clear favourite, followed by 16% for Louth-Meath ETB.
The closest contest for parental preferences was in the Wicklow-Rathcoole area, where 59% picked Educate Together. Catholic schools trust Le Chéile secured over a third of the 587 first preferences.
All four schools will be English-medium as the option of an Irish-language school or unit within a new second-level school did not secure strong support.
On foot of a finding against the Department of Education last year, following complaints to An Coimisinéir Teanga, a primary school due to open next year in the Drumcondra/Marino area of north Dublin will be a multi-denominational school under the patronage of An Foras Pátrúnachta.
This option was not selected after a 2016 survey despite being the first preference of parents of 361 children. Educate Together was picked as patron but another new school is now going to open.
For 12 new primary schools next year in areas announced by former minister Richard Bruton in April, parents have yet to be asked who they wish to be the patron.
The process that ended with yesterday’s announcement took almost five months from the formal invitation for patrons to apply in early June, which preceded the opening of a department-run website where parents could nominate preferences.
A department spokesperson told the Irish Examiner the parental surveys in respect of the 12 primary schools should go online in mid-November and would likely remain open for up to six weeks.
This should allow selected patrons to be announced in spring.
The areas where patrons must be selected for new primary schools due to open in 2019:
- Glasheen/Pouladuff
- Booterstown/Blackrock
- Donaghmede/Howth/Dublin 13
- Dublin 6 & 6W/Clonskeagh
- Goatstown/Stillorgan
- Killester/Raheny/Clontarf
- Swords/South
- Swords/North
- Leixlip
- Maynooth
- Dunshaughlin
- Kilcoole/Newtownmountkennedy
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