Schools to lose £200,000 from maintenance budget (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)
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Richmond schools to lose £200,000 from maintenance budget
7:00am Sunday 5th February 2012 in News
More than £200,000 has been wiped from the Richmond schools’ maintenance budget.
The cut in funds available for schools for building upkeep will come into effect from April.
Richmond Council reassured schools it remained committed to ensuring buildings were regularly maintained and said the reduction in funds was due to efficiencies achieved through the construction of new modern buildings that needed less upkeep.
But Liberal Democrat education spokesman, Councillor Malcolm Eady, questioned whether cuts would leave enough funds to fix future problems that may occur at schools, including leaking roofs.
Councillor Paul Hodgins, Richmond’s cabinet member for schools, said the council’s current programme of school’s investment meant a large number of maintenance needs were already taken care of.
He said: “The council is currently undertaking the largest programme of school building improvements in local history, with millions of pounds being invested.
“Due to the success of our primary schools, and to meet the forecast demand for primary places, the council has invested £25m in 2011/12 alone in building projects at 17 of our primary schools. At the same time the council has invested a further £5m in our secondary schools to improve SEN and 14 to 19 facilities.
“Over the next year, we have also committed a further £12m to complete the first two phases of primary expansions with a further £15m planned for phase three.
“Due to this, we are able to make prudent efficiencies in our schools maintenance budget, an annual voluntary top-up to schools made by the council, reducing it by £217,000 for 2012/13.”
The schools budget is generally used for larger cost items which cannot normally be paid for out of school reserves. It is used for providing replacement roofs and boilers, repairing blocked drains and providing new windows.
Coun Eady said: “This cut is very short sighted and fails to take into account any of the actual needs of the schools. Some schools are going to have to continue with leaking roofs, blocked drains and classrooms that are not fit for purpose.”
Richmond Council said it planned to top-up maintenance by £3.5m over the next few years.
Comments(3)
metis
says...
11:36pm Sun 5 Feb 12
aspicer
says...
10:45am Tue 7 Feb 12
A week after a MORAL crusade was launched against the local ‘Gentlemans Club’, we are now robbing from the children to prop up a pension. This is disgustingly low, and devoid of morals.
If they are not responsible, why do they not make a stand against how much of their budget is vanishing into this bottomless pension pit, and will do so for decades to come. Do they not understand the problem? However you look at it, they are responsible for inaction/ignorance/c
arelessness/stupidit
y – it’s yours to choose, please delete as appropriate. What’s worse, is that I have no doubt this is replicated in every Council up & down the country.
aspicer says...
2:07pm Sun 5 Feb 12
a) thier own final salary pension (which even Shell Oil can no longer afford - and they make £18bn profit a year!); or
b) childrens' schools?
which one do they choose?
They had a similar choice last year:
a) top up their golden unaffordable pension; or
b) save local day care centre Tangley Hall.
given these choices, we all kow which ones they will continue to choose. Our taxes, our money, but not spent on our services, oh no, into their pension scheme at the expense of our services.
Utter disgrace, misuse of public funds.
All too selfish to address this gross abuse. Snouts in the trough. Scum.