Derry secondary school budgets slashed for coming year

Figures obtained after a Freedom of Information request to the Department of Education has revealed that total of £1,364,656 has been slashed from the school’s revenue streams.

The cuts to resource funding are based on the amount of pupils that will be admitted to each of the educational establishments. In all, 202 less students will attend the schools in the 2016-17 academic year.

Resource funding relates to all spending inside schools including, for example, heating and lighting.

Lisneal College in the Waterside have lost the most. In September they will admit 86 less pupils than the previous year and as a result they have lost £370,181 from their budget.

Oakgrove Integrated College whose academic intake will be 36 less than 2015 has lost £210,209.

St Columb’s College are taking in 26 less pupils this year and as a result stand to lose £199,424 from their budget for the coming school year.

Next in line is St Joseph’s Boys School in Creggan who last year had 900 students but this year will have 868-a downturn of 32 children, have had £180,874 cut from their departmental revenue stream.

Another Creggan based school, St Cecilia’s, will have 17 less students this year and have had £157,945 in funding removed.

Following on from there, Foyle College who last year had 834 students, but will have 822 this year-a downturn of 12 have had their budget cut by £90.834.

St Mary’s College, with a downturn in student numbers of 15 to 865 attending from September onwards have lost £84,360.

However, Thornhill College who have increased their student intake by four for 2016-17 to 1,402 but have still had £39,359 eradicated from their budget.

Similarly, Lumen Christi College has slightly increased their pupil intake for next year, but still stand to have a budgetary cut.

Their student population will rise by three to 854, but they have still lost a total of £31,420 in funding.

The sole increase to a secondary level school budget in the city is at St Brigid’s College, Carnhill. Their student population will increase by a total of 45 children this September to 559. As a result of this their budget will increase by £116,475.

In August last year the ‘Journal’ published the planned cuts for the 2015-16 academic year. At that time, Lisneal College was again the school who lost the most with £330,671 docked from their budget.

Therefore, in overall terms in the last two academic years, the Waterside school has had a total of £700,852 removed from their resource funding budget.

In 2015 budget cuts to secondary level schools in the city affected St Joseph’s (£126,972), St Cecilia’s (£44,054), St Brigid’s, Carnhill (£125,138), Oakgrove Integrated College (£40,923) Foyle College (£79,817) and Thornhill College (£10,770).

This was an overall total of £427,674.

When this is added to the this year’s coming financial decrease of £1,364,656, it means that over the last two academic years second level schools in the Derry City area have lost a total of £1,792, 330 in funding as a result of Department of Education cutbacks.

Therefore, in overall terms in the last two academic years, the Waterside school has had a total of £700,852 removed from their resource funding budget.

In 2015 budget cuts to secondary level schools in the city affected St Joseph’s (£126,972), St Cecilia’s (£44,054), St Brigid’s, Carnhill (£125,138), Oakgrove Integrated College (£40,923) Foyle College (£79,817) and Thornhill College (£10,770).

This was an overall total of £427,674.

When this is added to the this year’s coming financial decrease of £1,364,656, it means that over the last two academic years second level schools in the Derry City area have lost a total of £1,792, 330 in funding as a result of Department of Education cutbacks.