Dear Parents,
In October 2014 we took the decision to increase our request for Family Contributions from €50 to €60. While I received one direct communication on this matter, I am led to believe that more parents are also asking questions about the decision.
- How is the money spent?
- Are these contributions really necessary?
- Why was there a need for this increase?
- Is this increase due to the non-payment on behalf of some families?
- Why not have a tiered –scheme of payment?
The purpose of this letter is to address these issues, assuage any misgivings and ask those families, who have yet to pay and who are in a financial position to do so, to contribute the €60.
The grants we receive from the Department of Education and Skills in Shanbally NS.
| Month | Grant |
| September | None |
| October | None |
| November | None |
| December | None |
| January | Capitation Grant (1st moiety) |
| February | None |
| March | Ancillary Services Grant |
| April | Standardised Testing Grant |
| May | Possible Book Rental Scheme Grant |
| June | Capitation Grant (2nd Moiety) |
| July | None |
| August | None |
| Last year’s Summer Works Grant schools who applied. | was awarded to less than 10% of |
At present we receive our main grants in January, March & June. The grants paid in April and May are much smaller and, combined, amount to less than €4,000. Last year, the DES paid Book Rental Scheme Grants to the 25% of schools who were not running a Book Rental Scheme. We are supposed to receive a grant this school year.
Why was Budget 2015 so significant?
In 2013 all schools received a Minor Works Grant. While this grant was not paid in 2012, we were hopeful of receiving it again this year. There was a lot of doubt regarding this payment, as expressed in this extract from the Irish Examiner (November 2014):
Schools are still waiting to find out if they will get Department of Education funding for repairs this year or if they will have to ask hard-pressed parents to pay the maintenance bills instead.
A year ago last week, former education minister Ruairí Quinn announced a one-off reinstatement of the minor works grant, paying €28m to the country’s 3,300 primary schools weeks before Christmas. The payment was described by Fianna Fáil as an election gimmick, as the once-annual grant was not paid in 2012 and was only announced last year soon before the local and European elections — giving an average-sized school of 120 pupils around €7,700.
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation says repairs which cannot be done would have to be left on the long-finger so postponing grants would prove more costly in the long run.
“Given that the Department of Education coffers have more money than this time last year, there is no excuse for failing to deliver on the minor works grant,” said INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan.
The department has a 2014 capital budget of €544m, of which €409m was spent up to the end of October. Although this is €8m more than it had expected to have spent by that point in the year, the €135m still left for capital works compares to just €99m available to the department under that heading the same time last year.
“Funding cuts and the abolition of other grants come at a time when more and more parents face financial difficulties and cannot respond to requests by schools for assistance with further increases in running costs,” Ms Nunan said.
The department told schools when last year’s grant was made that it would only be paid in future years as funding permits, and told the Irish Examiner this week there is no funding available “at this time”.
However, a spokesman for Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan said the payment of a grant for this year has not been precluded.
“The most recent capital out-turns for 2014 will be examined in coming weeks and any flexibility will be put to a minor works grant,” he said.
The department has also yet to decide if a summer works scheme — under which schools apply for funds with which to carry out essential works — would be run next year. Although the scheme has been cancelled in recent years while capital funding is focused on new schools and extensions, €70m was found this year and the second round of awards notified to schools weeks before May’s local elections.
In the end, the grant was not paid.
Budget 2014/2015
Given the huge ongoing media coverage of the protests at the introduction of water charges, relatively little comment was passed about Budget 2015 and in particular its repercussions for Irish Education and Irish Primary Schools.
Initial reporting concerning the impact on schools was seen as positive with the announcement of an additional 900 classroom teachers, 480 resource teachers and 365 SNAs. (On further analysis, it is now acknowledged that the DES was forced into these appointments in response to increasing demographics.)
Schools’ major concern was the omission from the Budget again of the Minor Works Grant which allows schools to carry out minor repairs and maintenance work in an ongoing and timely way. These repairs prevented the need for major and expensive refurbishments in the future. In the last school year (2013/2014) this grant was reinstated. This year we would have received approximately €10,000. To have this grant abolished is a major blow.
Further decrease in Capitation Grants
Furthermore, the continued decrease in capitation grants for 2015 was allowed to proceed. A 1% reduction a year for primary school capitation and related grants was announced in Budget 2012. The final percentage decrease will take place in 2015. The grant paid by the DES for primary schools was €200 per child in 2009/2010. By 2015, this grant will have fallen to €170 per child. For 2013/2014 it was €173 for primary children.
A simple calculation will tell you that in 2010 there would have been approximately an additional €7,200 in capitation alone based on current enrolment compared to this year.
Sheila Nunan (INTO) recently said that “the State under-funding of schools is being covered up, topped up and made good mainly by principals (parents and Parents Associations!) who spend more and more time fund-raising. Funding for schools has decreased by a full 15% in recent years while running costs have increased significantly”.
Voluntary / Family Contributions
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection, in June 2013, issued a unanimous statement calling on principals and BOMs to immediately cease asking parents for voluntary contributions. Their plea, on behalf of parents was well intended but removed from the reality of managing a school on an everyday basis. There are unavoidable costs in a school which on their own have become the reason why BOMs and principals are left with no choice but to ask parents to help out. What started as voluntary contributions 4 to 5 years ago has now become more like ‘bail out’ contributions to help pay for basic operational costs. This amounts to yet another tax on hard-pressed families. The major utility bills for schools are little different from our homes, all of which we have little choice but to pay. In the last 5 years, the cost of heating fuel, insurance, electricity, water and refuse collection have increased disproportionately to other services, in the same time the capitation grants have gone in the opposite direction.
Typically, we request family contributions in October rather than September to allow families recover (somewhat) from the returning to school costs. With our Book Rental Scheme and offers with School Uniform Suppliers, we strive to keep those costs as low as possible. Of course the crisis in our economy and related cutbacks has put everyone under pressure and makes it increasingly difficult to keep the show on the road. I am very conscious of the pressure parents are facing at home as we all struggle with basic living costs.
As a parent myself (of 2 young girls) I am very aware of the strains of managing mortgages, child-care costs etc.
It was with great reluctance and out of necessity that we upped the request for family contributions from €50 to €60 per family this year. A few years ago, it reached €75 per family. Of the €60, €5.60 per child goes towards the Allianz Pupil Insurance Scheme.
The period from September to December is normally a very difficult financial period as we attempt to juggle bills and postpone payments until January, when we receive our first DES payment in 7 months. This year, due to the non-payment of the Minor Works Grant, the Family Contributions are a vital source of funding to cover our most basic costs.
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- How is the money spent?
- Are these contributions really necessary?
At the moment, the Family Contributions we have received so far have all gone directly to cover the following expenses: electricity, phone, insurance, pest control, school stationery supplies, paye/prsi, cleaning and first aid supplies, among others.
As a result of our failure to qualify for a summer works scheme grant last summer (along with 90% of other primary schools) we still have maintenance issues that have to be dealt with, especially around electricity and IT.
Unfortunately, since September our projectors in 1st, Junior Infants and 4th class broke down and were deemed unrepairable as they were coming to the end of their product life, having all been installed around the same time. These have now been replaced at a cost of almost €1,000 each. It is possible that other projectors will fail over the coming months. These types of costs are hard to budget/save for when grants barely cover day to day expenses and outlays. There are other areas that need addressing, but which we are forced to postpone. These include the exit doors in the Halla.
- Why was there a need for this increase?
The simple answer is to pay our way to January 2015. The €10 increase per family is an attempt to offset the financial effects of the abolition of the Minor Works Grant and the non-qualification for a Summer Works Grant in summer 2014.
- Is this increase due to the non-payment on behalf of some families?
The short answer is no. Even with 100% compliance/ payment, we would still have had to raise the request by €10. Of course, I am aware that a certain percentage of families simply cannot pay as they don’t have the €60. It is not my intention to pressurise or hassle these families further. However, I am trying to demonstrate and highlight the financial pressures we are under to persuade those who can to, respectfully, do so. I hope that the information provided in this letter demonstrates the vital need for an increase. If you haven’t paid your €60 so far, please do so. With Christmas approaching some may prefer to stagger payments which is perfectly acceptable.
- Why not have a tiered –scheme of payment?
This is something we will revisit in the future. We’ve had a brief discussion around the possibility of separating contributions/ pupil insurance fees down the line. For now, our immediate reaction was that if we had a tiered payment, we would be seen to be punishing families with more children! We would argue that €60 for one child is not completely excessive given the likelihood that in secondary schools far more is requested.
In conclusion
Surveys show that expenditure per pupil at primary level is below the OECD average. Irish Class sizes are among the highest in the OECD, the second-most crowded with almost ¼ of pupils in classes of 30 or more. Irish classes are 20% larger than the EU average.
As principals, we are conscious that tight financial constraints are part of the job description. However, it is practically impossible to maintain pre-recession standards in an age of austerity. As outlined Shanbally NS has approximately €20,000 (not counting Summer Works Scheme) less per annum to run the school than in, for example, 2010.
Schools with many pre-fabricated buildings are costlier to run than newer builds and their maintenance eats into any potential savings a school makes. I wish to acknowledge the invaluable support, financially and in general, of you, our parents and the Parents Association over the years. I now urge you to continue to do your best in these difficult times.
Trish Coleman (BOM) and I are currently working on projects for 2015, which may ease the financial pressure, namely the running of a Golf Classic in May/June 2015 and a raffle based on our 50th Anniversary celebrations. I am currently chasing support for same through some of our local industries. I welcome any parents with specific contacts or fund-raising ideas to approach me at any time to discuss same.
I will close with the following observation from a fellow principal in a recent publication, which I’d like to echo.
Primary school is part of a child’s lived experience which must include languages, science, technology, the Arts along with social, physical and emotional development. All of these help children to live full lives as children and contribute to their futures. We must be fully supported in our work by national economic, social and education policy rather than be undermined by it.
Is mise le meas,
David Nolan