‘SWITCHING to academy status saved jobs,’ claims Lindley Juniors headteacher.
anneb: “Surely you will be allocated the same amount of money, from central government as given to you by the local council? Looking at what you said implies that the council would have to let five staff members go to balance the books, so to speak.
“How then do you propose to keep said staff on, without cutting back somewhere else or getting more money from the government? Or will you be making it a fee paying school, now it’s not accountable to Kirklees?”
justsayozzy: “What a ridiculous assertion. Of course it can’t be a fee paying school. Such a statement just indicates a lack of knowledge or perhaps scaremongering or even worse a lack of education (which would be ironic). The headteacher is in charge of the budget and so decides how best to spend the cash – commonly known as ‘Accounting for Management Control’.
“Don’t forget as an academy, she can attract cash from the private sector. This is simply a reflection of government education policy. If you don’t like it (a) next time vote Labour (b) complain to your local MP or (c) leave the country.”
ABywater: “As one of the better junior schools, she must know what she’s doing and believe she can do it better without the restrictions of a local authority.
“I know she said payroll was being done by the local authority, but surely they ‘balance the books’ themselves. If so an accountant would be paid more than a teacher.”
anneb: “justsayozzy, in response, yes I am educated thank you, by said government, thank them. If the headteacher can attract private investors, what for and in what capacity?
“As for accountancy, it’s basic housekeeping, There’s just so much money. If you allocate it elsewhere, you have to cut back on something else or get more income from somewhere else.
“I think you will find out eventually, that now it’s an independent school, it will be able in time to take in fee paying pupils – or the school could be turned into one giant advertisement board for private investors.”