South Wales Evening Post - 28 April 2007
Teachers in Swansea could be facing redundancies as schools struggle to bring budgets back into the black.
As many as 11 of Swansea's 14 secondary schools are thought to be burdened with budget deficits, mainly due to falling pupil numbers.It means jobs will go and class sizes might have to increase.
Faced with severe budget over-runs, many are now believed to be considering teacher redundancies ahead of the new academic year in September.
Teachers have been contacting the Evening Post in the last 48 hours to report possible moves to reduce teacher numbers at a number of schools, including Bishop Gore, in Sketty, and Gowerton. None has been confirmed.
But Peggy George, chairman of governors at Bishop Gore School, said a meeting to decide on a way forward was being planned.
The revelation comes just 24 hours after warnings being publicly sounded by one of the campaigners who last year successfully fought off merger plans for the city's Dylan Thomas Community School that tough decisions lay ahead.
Dereck Roberts said: "The funding is a big problem. You can't go on running down school buildings."Nobody wants to grasp it politically and the reality is that it is not going to go away.
"They are bound to upset someone. But they have got to bite the bullet, they have got to do it within the next five years.
"There is a huge issue in my view."
Mrs George claimed 11 out of 14 secondary schools in Swansea had big budget deficits.
She added: "In some cases, we're talking of more than £200,000."There are only three secondary schools in the black and they are the ones who are packing the numbers in."
Olchfa and Bishopston comprehensives, which are both highperforming schools where places are in high demand, are thought to be among those in the black.
"It is not a case of budget mismanagement," said Mrs George.
"Falling school rolls is at the root of it and someone needs to get hold of this issue.
"The consequence of fewer pupils is a loss to the budget. You lose well over £2,000 per year, per pupil.
"If you are losing, say, 50 pupils at the top end and they're not being replaced at the bottom end, that's a total loss of £100,000.
"Any school in this situation has to be looking at the possibility of teacher redundancies, given that teacher salaries make up about 75 per cent of school budgets.
"The parent of one Gowerton child said he was furious at the idea of any job losses.He added: "This is our children's education we are talking about. And they only get one go at it.
"There is going to be uproar over this.''
A Swansea Council spokeswoman said: "Schools manage their own staff and budgets and take these decisions following their budget allocations which are largely based on the number of pupils attending the school.
"It is hoped that any redundancies will be taken on a voluntary basis.
"We work closely with schools to support them as they seek to manage these difficult choices in the interests of staff and pupils.
"Should there be a possibility of compulsory redundancies, we will do all we can to minimise them.
"The issue of how many redundancies there may be and how such issues are managed are a matter for individual schools."
