Barton fears Education Authority has "lost control of itself"

By Q Radio News

The financial state of Northern Ireland's schools has reached crisis point.

That's according to former teacher and MLA Rosemary Barton - who claims there are now 5 hundred and 62 schools in deficit.

It's the first time there's been more schools in deficit - than in surplus and they have a total overspend - of more than 62 million pounds.

UUP MLA Rosemary Barton fears the Education Authority has lost control of itself. She says there are now 5 hundred and 62 schools in Northern Ireland in deficit. pic.twitter.com/e86o7ZLdEu

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) September 19, 2019

The position was clarified by the Education Authority - which Mrs. Barton fears has lost control of itself.

“This is the first time in Northern Ireland that there have been more schools in deficit than in surplus.

This is an incredibly perilous situation and I fear that with the combined deficits now totalling a shocking £62.6m, the Education Authority has lost control of the situation.

“There has been a real terms cut of 13% - £245m - in the Department of Education’s resource budget from 2010.  

Growing pupil numbers, increasing demand for special educational needs provision and overall growing costs each year have combined to create a perfect storm for local schools. 

“From regularly talking to school principals across the country I know that they have cut costs in almost every area – class sizes have grown, extra-curricular activities have been cancelled and valued staff have unfortunately been let go.

Yet, despite all those actions, a record number of schools are now being left with no choice but to spend money that they simply do not have.

“The revelation that more than half of all our local schools are now in debt debunks the myth that the Confidence and Supply arrangement between the DUP and Conservative Party had removed the pressures on school budgets.

At the end of March 2017 there were 308 schools in deficit, but by the end of March 2019 there were 562. Many of the school leaders that I talk to tell me they haven’t seen a penny of the extra funding.

“The financial crisis in our schools is now so serious, and the debts for some individual schools so large, that I’m genuinely fearful that the situation for some may be unrecoverable.