SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan has expressed his deep concern over new proposals by the Department of Education which could result in funding cuts to many local schools in Derry.
Foyle MP Mark Durkan
Mr Durkan said: “I have grave concerns over these reductions in funding for local schools.
“The added support that the Minister is targeting at schools with pupils from socially deprived backgrounds should not be at the expense of other school funds.
“This will have a detrimental – not to mention ongoing – impact on schools in Derry. Indeed, this hit and the implications of the Minister’s proposals will not only impact next year but future years.
“A number of local schools feel that they have been penalised for the way they have managed their budgets with the small margins of surplus within the band recommended by the Department.
“They also feel that the projected funding formula will put them at serious risk of deficit in coming years.
“Many are also at a loss to understand how removing class size funding for instance can be presented as an equity or opportunity measure.
Mr Durkan concluded: “There is also new money in play – notably millions of pounds provided by the government at Westminster for free school meals in Northern Ireland – which the Executive has discretion over. Indeed, this – or indeed other measures – could be used to mitigate the severe impact on these schools that the Minister is proposing.”
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