ADES and School Board Budgets

17 September 2001

John Mulgrew
President
ADES
East Ayrshire Council
Education Department
London Road
Kilmarnock
KA3 7BU

School Board Budgets

Following the meeting of the Executive Board on Saturday 15 September 2001 I was asked to write to you as President of ADES to put forward our findings and our recommendations on the subject of School Board Budgets.

Firstly may I assure you that the Executive Board are sympathetic to the lack of funding coming to education departments from both the regional and national funding bodies. The Board also fully recognises that priorities must be given to education for the children in staffing and resources and that School Board budgets will feature at the lower end of the priority list.

However, over the past two years we have had the following complaints from member Boards with regard to School Board budgets. These have mainly been as follows (in no order):

1. Not enough funds to allow attendance at training sessions
2. Not enough funds to attend conferences
3. Not enough control over the School Board budget – it is often administered by the Headteacher under devolved school management procedures
4. Not enough funds to allow consultation with parents
5. Not enough funds to keep parents informed of what is going on in the school, in the authority and nationally
6. Not enough funds for travelling expenses
7. Not enough funds to buy in training booklets for all Board members
8. It is very difficult to spend any money from the School Boards knowing that at the end of the year it could be used to help the Headteacher buy resources so desperately needed for the children.

At a recent meeting with the Jack McConnell, Education Minister he stated that he was unaware of the problems associated with the lack of funding to School Boards and has asked us to keep him informed of our findings and discussions with various bodies.

Earlier this year we wrote to you asking for information on funding and I am pleased to say that we had replies from all 32 authorities. The tables prepared for presentation to the Minister are attached although this has been sent to you previously. You will note that the monies provided vary considerably from Council to Council. You should however take into account the Councils who have a dedicated School Board unit.

While we have been doing the rounds with the SSBA roadshow I have taken the opportunity of meeting with Directors (or representatives) and I am pleased to say that the tone of the meetings encourages a partnership approach on this topic.

In 1998 SSBA put forward recommendations on the minimum amount required by School Boards to allow them to carry out their legislative duties. These are as follows:

Example: for 7 member School Board – 8 meetings per year -

NB. School Board training could be supplied centrally. A separate report has been prepared and accompanies this letter.

Members of the SSBA Finance Group would welcome the opportunity of meeting with representatives of ADES to discuss this matter further in the hope that we can reach a mutually agreeable basic minimum funding level for School Board administration. I would be grateful if you could let me know of suitable dates when such a meeting could take place. (It might be worth noting that the Treasurer lives in East Ayrshire and is therefore happy for the meeting to take place in your own office at your convenience).

I look forward to hearing from you in the near future and assure you of our commitment to the partnership approach on this issue.

Kindest regards
Ann Hill
Chief Executive
SSBA

* School Board training allowance not included

# 1999 budget – no reply to request for information to date.

22 June 2001

Scottish School Board Association

Recommended School Board Budgets

Following a survey of all 32 local authorities, the Executive Board of SSBA have finalised the recommendation for minimum funding for School Boards to allow them to carry out their legislative duties. Budget allowances ranged from £174.50 at worst to £1,117.30 at best.

The findings and recommendations will be brought to the attention of all Directors of Education, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Minister for Education and Children.

SSBA will endeavour to bring the minimum requirement to all its member Boards. You should discuss these recommendations at your regional meetings with your Director of Education.

2001 RECOMMENDATION: