Management bodies unite to publicly demand spending rise
- Last Updated: Tuesday, 30 September 2008 01:00
By Niall Murray, Education Correspondent
THE need for improved funding and services for schools is to be aired publicly in the coming days as the Government faces growing pressure ahead of the budget.
With the 2009 budget a fortnight away, decisions on education spending for next year will be made in the coming days.
Organisations representing the management of all 3,280 primary schools will stand united in their call for increased investment at a press conference this morning. The heads of all seven management bodies will make their case in a rare public gathering highlighting their deep concerns.
With Government finances in serious disarray, schools are worried about the impact of anything but a substantial increase in their day-to-day funding on daily life for pupils and teachers.
Primary schools receive a grant of €178 for every pupil, or more than €53,000 for a 300-pupil school, but managers will argue this is completely insufficient to meet rising insurance, heating and energy costs in the school year ahead, as well as providing materials for teaching.
The event will bring together representatives of the schools run for the Catholic and Church of Ireland bishops, Islamic schools, special education schools, two all-Irish school management bodies and Educate Together which has more than 50 multi-denominational primary schools.
Further focus on primary school funding will be raised at a public meeting organised by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation at the RDS in Dublin on Thursday night.
The union has invited parents and the media to hear discussion about issues such as overcrowded classes, lack of investment in schools computers, rocketing costs forcing schools to ask parents for contributions, and delays in the school building programme.
The pre-budget submission of the Joint Managerial Body warned last week that secondary schools will have to fundraise for almost a third of their running costs next year unless there is significant improvement in Government funding.
