Mayo school principals are facing tough choices as costs soar

The principals of two of the fastest-growing primary schools in Mayo fear that basic funding is not keeping pace with inflation and that this risks eroding progress made on inclusion and modernisation in national schools.

A 2011 cut to the capitation grants paid to schools was reversed this summer but a 2011 grant doesn’t cover 2024 prices. 

Kenneth Dennedy, principal of Scoil Íosa in Ballyhaunis, has to contend with sharp inflation in fuel and lighting costs in recent years. 

“Electricity bills went through the roof,” he explained – a view echoed by a recent survey conducted by the Catholic Primary School Management Association (CPSMA), which suggests schools experienced a 37.3% rise in heating costs in the two years to June 2024 along with a 35.2% jump in electricity and a 19% rise in insurance premiums in the same time frame.

All this is happening in the context of a dramatic increase in the school population. 

“We went from 240 pupils in 2015 to over 400 pupils now,” explained Mr Dennedy, who wants to see an increase in the capitation grants to reflect the increased physical size of the school after several recent building programmes.

The increase in the school’s population is in large part due to migration into Ballyhaunis, one of the fastest growing towns in the county in the recent census. Scoil Íosa is one of four DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) Urban Band 1 Schools in Mayo, regarded as the most disadvantaged. But while Ballyhaunis’ demographic expansion has been recognised in the school being granted DEIS designation, it also means the school is unable to do the kind of fundraising common in the past to cover costs.

“I know that it would fall largely on the same small cohort of parents,” explained Mr Dennedy, who believes some parents are unable or unaccustomed to contributing. “Some of our clientele don’t have the means, therefore you won’t get a lot of kids who’ll come in with a €2 contribution if you ask it.” 

It’s a view shared by principal of Scoil Íosa in Ballina, Michael Tunney, who’s seen a 50% increase in key costs like heating oil and electricity in the past two years. Aside from a cost-of-living grant, there’s been no rise in running costs to protect school budgets and progress on teaching resources and inclusion.

“It means you don’t have money for teaching resources,” explained Mr Tunney, who says the school is put in a dilemma when it comes to extracurricular activities like swimming or school trips. 

“If we have to charge parents for these trips it could be a barrier to participation for some people.”

Mr Tunney is keen to acknowledge the advances of recent years in primary school funding: free school books and free school meals are a major plus in terms of ensuring equality of opportunity, he stresses. But the extra money that come with DEIS status alongside new book grants don’t pay for rising energy costs.

Grants for regular maintenance of school buildings have also lost pace with inflation. A minor works grant paid for upkeep needs to increase, said Mr Tunney. 

“Those costs have doubled: we are running an extremely small budget for these works," he said.

The issues in Ballina and Ballyhaunis are being experienced nationwide.

Susan Ellis, acting secretary general of the CPSMA, acknowledged the Department of Education’s circular, published in late June 2024, which restores the capitation grant to its 2011 level of €200 per pupil in September 2024. But this figure needs to rise to €248, Ms Ellis said.

“CPSMA is cognisant of the fact that this restoration did not take account of inflation which was approximately 22% over the same period,” Ms Ellis explained. "Regretfully, the impact of inflation has robbed the restoration of much of its benefit to schools.” 

The sporadic nature of grant payments from the Department of Education has complicated the budgeting process for a school at a time of soaring costs. 

“There’s been an extra cost-of-living grant to help cover the heat but it’s very sporadic, it’s not clear when payments are coming,” explained Kenneth Dennedy.

The timing of payments was also raised in the CPSMA survey by teachers who called for more clarity on the timing of grant payments.

The anxiety is acute for school principals who are managers as much as educators, tasked with maintaining academic programmes as well as budgets, on top of major construction projects as school populations grow.

On a positive note, both schools are also thriving academically. Remarkably, while nearly 70% of pupils at Scoil Íosa in Ballyhaunis don’t speak English at home, the school continues to thrive academically. Increased diversity “hasn’t lessened the academic performance", says Mr Dennedy. 

Principals will be watching closely this new school term to see if the restored capitation grant will be enough to balance the books. The CPSMA survey of 1,440 schools suggested that 70% of schools have run a deficit due to insufficient grant funding.

The situation is unsustainable according to principals who spoke anonymously for the survey. One of them said grants designated for other purposes are now being spent on day-to-day costs while another said the school had depleted its savings.

Respondents said cutting back on heat had left their school cold and this was impacting on staff and pupils. Some 53% of schools indicated they had to fundraise for basic utilities, meaning the principal’s time was going on fundraising. This situation leads to a fraught work environment: the pressure to fundraise while simultaneously maintaining academic standards creates stress.

“On the one hand we have free books and hot meals but on the other hand we are asking parents for money in fundraising,” said one survey respondent.