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16
Nov 2020
Harrogate and Knaresborough schools 'could be forced to axe teachers'
Schools in Harrogate and Knaresborough could be forced to lay-off teachers because of spiralling debts, a councillor has warned.
Cllr Geoff Webber, a Liberal Democrat who represents Harrogate Bilton and Nidd Gorge on North Yorkshire County Council, said schools may be forced to act after new figures showed debt increasing.
A council report published last week on schools in Harrogate and Knaresborough showed four schools are projected to have debts totalling £1.6 million by March 2021.
By March 2023, this is forecast to have risen to five schools with total debts of £1.6 million.
Cllr Webber told the Stray Ferret:
The financial situation is bleak across the county: 37 schools in North Yorkshire have total debt of £7.2 million.
This is expected to soar to 93 schools with total debt of £18.3 million by 2022/23. This would mean 40 per cent of schools in the county will be in debt.
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Two primary schools, one secondary school and one special needs school are currently in debt in Harrogate and Knaresborough. The council paper does not name them.
The government has frozen education funding in recent years.
North Yorkshire misses out
The funding formula focuses on deprivation. So schools in more affluent areas like the Harrogate district tend to miss out.
The report says:
Cllr Webber said the council should use its reserves to plug funding shortfalls if the government does not increase funding.
Cllr Patrick Mulligan, the Conservative executive member for education and skills at the council, who represents Airedale, told the Stray Ferret:
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