Why did school situation go on for so long?

IN my years as principal in an English school I was only too aware of the financial benefit that attached to each student because, like all other schools, my school was funded according to the exact number of students on roll.

With governors it was my responsibility to employ and pay teachers and support staff according to the budget generated by these students.

With no children, our 100 staff would have been made redundant and we would each have applied for jobs elsewhere. If I had been principal of an empty school for seven weeks, I most certainly would not have been paid.

By my fairly rough calculations the average cost of educating a pupil in a medium-sized Kerry national school is in the region of €3,500. My calculation of the cost per pupil in Clonkeen’s Scoil Mhuire NS during 2009/10 was €35,000 and for 2008/09 €13,000.

Surely it is a major scandal that such a disproportionate situation could have been tolerated especially at a time when we so frequently read in your newspaper of the withdrawal of necessary resources from children with special needs.

Thank you for raising the issue of Scoil Mhuire and now I hope that our Kerry TDs will follow your lead and seek answers as to why this scandal was allowed to continue for so long. I wonder how many other Clonkeens exist around the country?

Alan Whelan

Beaufort

Co Kerry