[size=7]Green Party proposes major reform of education funding[/size]

[size=7]– €142m investment package 'radical, realistic and fully costed' says Gogarty[/size]


[size=7]The Green Party has called for a radical reform of the funding system for schools. Following on from its well-received proposals to cut class sizes by providing 2,400 new teachers at both primary and second level, Green Party Education Spokesperson Paul Gogarty TD today unveiled a €142 million package which he claimed would transform the way the education system operates in Ireland.

The proposals, which form part of the Party's "50 Steps to a Better Education System" include:

- A doubling of the capitation grant for primary schools from €163.58 per pupil at primary level to €325 per pupil at an estimated cost of €74 million.
Increasing the ICT (computer) grant for primary and secondary schools from €46 per pupil (NDP levels) to €100 per pupil

- A VAT exemption on all expenditure arising out of fund-raising and voluntary donations in primary and second level schools

- The introduction of service level agreements with patron bodies to manage all new schools

- New regional education structures to target and plan investment more effectively

"Today's proposals are radical, realistic and fully costed," said Deputy Gogarty. "Our education system needs to make a quantum leap in terms of funding and this package of measures goes a long way towards helping schools provide an enhanced educational experience for all our young people.

Deputy Gogarty said that the Green Party was now being recognised as the leading opposition party in terms of education policy. "I am gratified by the feedback we have received from various education partners who have praised the Green Party for making firm commitments and presenting credible, costed proposals.

"While it is good to get such positive recognition for our '50 Steps' rollout, the reality is that if we enter Government, it will not be on our own. Therefore I would ask all organisations within the education sector to redouble their efforts to get tangible agreements from parties including Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour to ensure that they too will commit to significant increased targeted investment in our education system.

Lots of promises have already been made, but we have seen very little in terms of costings and clear commitments. I am calling on future prospective coalition partners to come clean about their education plans," stated Gogarty.

[ENDS]

Information:
Paul Gogarty TD: 087 2752489[/size]

[size=7]50 Steps to a Better Education System - www.50Steps.com[/size]

Step 37 - Capitation grant increase for primary schools

Recognising the traditional shortfall in funding for primary schools, in Government the Green Party will increase the standard capitation grant from €163.58 per pupil at primary level to €325 per pupil at an estimated cost of €74 million.

We will also marginally increase the standard capitation grant in second level schools to equalise it with the revised primary level figure from €316 per pupil to €325 per pupil at an estimated cost of €3.1 million.

Step 36 - VAT refund on fund-raising and voluntary donations

The Green Party will refund all the VAT schools are charged on expenditure arising out of fundraising and all voluntary donations (ie no amount specified). This will be done subject to clarification that this is within the remit of the Government under EU law at the time of the measure being introduced. The current estimated cost of such a measure and Year 1 allocation from the exchequer is €17.5 million.

Step 35 - ICT investment

In Government the Green Party will investigate the potential of a new Computer Studies subject. We will resource primary and second level schools to ensure that each pupil has access to a quality ICT infrastructure, with one newly purchased computer for each child of at least 6:1. In addition to existing Government commitments under the National Development Plan, we will provide an extra €54 per pupil (bringing the total up to €100), at an estimated cost of €43.8 million.

Step 34 - State planning and delivery of educational facilities

[size=7]The Green Party will create a new model for the planning and delivery of educational facilities. Following on from Step 4, the DES under a Green Party government will take a proactive approach to providing new schools.

School planning will in future be primarily driven by the DES, eventually through the decentralised, regional structure envisaged in Step 33. Under this new system the DES regional bodies would source and deliver temporary and permanent accommodation for new national and second level schools. Patron bodies would then be invited to apply to manage these new schools, which would be located in multi-use campuses and purpose built under Integrated Public Partnership (see Step 3).

One or more schools will be sanctioned to operate within a campus, depending on the levels of interest expressed by patron bodies, who may, in cases of competition, have to tender by means of an open competition for delivery of services. A service level agreement will then be drawn up between the DES and the patron body in each instance.

In addition to current funding for managerial bodies a new fund will be provided to cover service level agreements with a fee of €77,000 in the year of opening and €17,000 per annum for the next five years of operation*. The latter €17,000 will be paid on a phased-out basis for all schools that have been set up in the last five years. An allocation of €1.5 million has been made in Year 1 to cover average annual costs arising out of this scheme.

Patron bodies will still be entitled to plan schools and apply for recognition under the current system, however the DES will increasingly become the driver given the shortage oStep 33 - Review of Education Structuresf schools in many parts of the country and the lack of choice available to parents and children in terms of ethos.[/size]

[size=7]*This is the model for service level agreements as proposed by the Educate Together patron body. Such a fee would be applicable to cover managerial and set-up/training costs for all new schools, whatever their denomination or ethos.[/size]

Step 33 - New regional structures

[size=7]In Government, the Green Party will reform the current decision making and funding structures for education. This will be carried out subject to a comprehensive analysis and review of the existing structures with feasibility studies carried out on our favoured model. An allocation of €2 million has been set aside in Year 1 for this purpose

The model we propose builds on recommendations made at the National Forum on Primary Education and Ending Disadvantage* to create new regional education structures.

Recognising the existing role played by the VECs, we will create the new system partially by building and improving on existing regional VEC structures to create new, decentralised decision making bodies for primary and second Level. These bodies will oversee many funding functions currently carried out by the Department, with staff decentralised where appropriate to regional office. The bodies will have formal links to local authorities to ensure better planning for education based on county development plans, demographic changes and specific regional needs. Each body will ideally directly correspond to a county council or city council area and could be based at the Local Authority offices. Linkages will also be created with a newly created Further Education sector.

Overall responsibility for funding allocations will ultimately rest with the Department of Education and Science, but in line with Green Party principles decision making will take place at the lowest effective level and responsibility for allocating at regional/local authority level will be devolved.[/size]

[size=7]*P. 147 of the action plan of the National Forum on Education 2001 (S 3.1.1) states: "This action plan recommends that the Department of Education and Science create regional education structures and devolve responsibility for the organisation and delivery of primary (and other levels of) education to those structures. These regional structures would be accountable to the central structure of the Department of Education and Science and, while administrative duties would form part of their remit, they would also have more significant areas of responsibility, particularly in making decisions around the analysis of regional needs, the development of strategies for the integration of services at a local level and the allocation of funding and resources."[/size][/b]