| Board members expressed their dismay at being forced to agree a spending plan which incorporates savings of £7.2million.
A total of 22 members voted for the scheme to be forwarded to the Department of Education. Six members resigned from the Board.
Following the meeting, SELB Chairman Moira Alexander said: “Board members voted to adopt the Resource Allocation Plan with the greatest reluctance.
“Members expressed their dismay at having been placed in the situation of having to agree to savings of the magnitude of £7.2m as a result of underfunding from the Department of Education.
“In November, the SELB raised its concerns about the Government’s projected spending for education over the next three years but the concerns appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
“When I met Education Minister Barry Gardiner, along with my counterparts from other Boards on March 15, it was made clear that he required each Board to agree a Resource Allocation Plan for the incoming financial year.
“Due to underfunding, the Board will not be able to maintain services at current levels. Our aim is that no service should disappear but rather that reductions will be achieved by critically reviewing the full range of service provision.
“Concerns have been raised about the impact of the proposed savings on particular services, for example special education. For the financial year beginning April 1, 2005 , the proposed SELB budget incorporates spending of £21.178m on special education, an increase of more than £2m on the equivalent budget set for the present financial year.
“Proposed savings of £524,000 are indicated in the 2005/06 Resource Allocation Plan across the full range of Special Education Services. Among the ways these savings are to be realised is through looking at the criteria for placing pupils in special schools, through reorganisation of teaching
arrangements under the Peripatetic Service and under the Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS) provision. The level of staffing and resources for the Board’s special schools will not be reduced.”
Other savings options are spread across a number of services including Catering, Transport (including School Crossing Patrols), Headquarters, Curriculum Advisory Support Service, Resource Centres, Music Service, Special Education, School Library Provision and Maintenance. The £7.2million savings include a £3.5million cut from maintenance. It is proposed that savings would be made through reviewing a range of services, reducing staff costs and increasing charges for services provided by the Board where this is feasible.”
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