CLAIMS that Manchester's most successful state school is breaking the law in the way it asks for contributions of '1,230 a year from parents will be investigated.
Governors at King David primary and secondary schools have for a number of years asked parents to make regular contributions to maintain standards, fund religious studies and subsidise building costs.
They say the payments - which have been criticised as "fees by the back door" - are voluntary contributions and fall well within the law.
But now government officials will check the school is acting in line with legislation after parent Esther Lyndley complained to Education Secretary Ruth Kelly that the school was going too far.
Mother-of-two Mrs Lyndley claims she has been sent "invoices" that keep a running total of what she has contributed since her children started at the school. She says governors have phoned her and urged her to make the payments.
She claims she was told her son would not get a place in the school's nursery unless the payments for her elder daughter were up to date. Her complaint is being handled by solicitor James Wilson, a specialist in education law, who says the school is in breach of the Education Act 1996 and he wants Ms Kelly to intervene.
He said: "Parents have been telephoned, visited and been sent repeated demands for money, which is objectionable to parents in general, but is even more objectionable to parents who cannot afford to pay the money.
Unreasonably
"I have written to the Secretary of State, who has powers to issue directions or orders to the governing bodies of schools when she considers the governing body is acting unreasonably. I have asked her to politely tell the governing body that they have gone too far."
Mr Wilson hopes the matter can be resolved without the need for legal action.
Ms Lyndley - who says she has been told she "owes" the school '5,945.20 - claims she has been repeatedly pestered for payment in phone calls and letters.
"They should stop sending invoices," said Ms Lyndley, who is also involved in a dispute with the school over her son's diet.
"If they are a charity and want to raise money for the school, they are more than welcome to do that in different ways."
As a voluntary-aided maintained school, King David receives the majority of its funding from the government, but it does have a responsibility to find up to 10 per cent of the cost of capital building work and for studies outside the national curriculum.
King David is believed to be the only school in the city to send written statements to parents.
The statements say: "Pupils at the school will not be treated differently according to whether or not their parents have made this contribution."
Joshua Rowe, chair of governors at the school, said since concerns were raised in the
Manchester Evening News the word "invoice" had been removed for communications to parents. But he insisted the wording on the contribution requests had been cleared by the Department for Education and Skills.
No one at Manchester's local education authority, was available to comment.
What do you think of the way the school is asking for money? Have your say.
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I have a son at King David. The school needs to raise money for studies outside the NC which are not government funded. All the parents are aware of the situation and we are all responsible for helping the school raise these funds. When we had problems paying the contribution the school was extremely understanding and sympathetic to our situation.
How dare they make people feel compelled to give money in this way. I thought education was free. Well done for making a stand. Sue under the harrasment act. I would tell then exactly where to stick their letters and invoices.
They are no different from North Cheshire Jewish Primary school with their so called voluntary contributions. My sister is no longer in a position to pay as her husband refuses to pay maintenance for her children but she gets some vile letters from Stanley Crawford the treasurer demanding payment even though he has been informed of her circumstances.
I agree with Linda from Cheadle. I had children at North Cheshire Jewish Primary and received extremely upsetting phone calls demanding money when my circumstances were very difficult.
While this practice of near-compulsory 'contributions' is very wrong, I can't help but think that the schools mentioned here are simply exploiting loopholes left by a government which refuses to provide sufficient funding for the schools to educate the kids properly, including stuff outside the curriculum. If they received the funding in the first place, they wouldn't be acting like some sort of education 'protection racket!'
Again, this all boils down to religion. I don't believe in segregating any child as it breeds intolerance later on. If you want your child to go to all all Jewish or all Muslim school for example then you should pay for it and not expect the goverment to fund it all.
if you don't like it don't go there go to another school its like everything in life you have a c nobody is forcing you to go there. it is manchester's most successful state school so use youre head.but i suppose some people will bitch about everthing.
I'm sorry but I can't see the news worthiness in this story. Why doesn't Ester just take her children out of this school where she is clearly having such a horrendous time & put them in another. When my children were of school going age the LEA sent us a list of several schools with which to apply to. Has anyone advised Ester that she can take her children out of this school which she believes is hampering her children's education & put them in one where the parents are not requested to make voluntary contributions to improve their children's education.
Sydney
although i do not want my name in your paper as i still have a child at the school, i have had 4 children go through king david high school and even though three of them have left, one 7 years ago, my bills keep coming from the school. i am a single parent on income support and the last bill i got was for B#25250, yes I said B#25250, I obviously have never paid them as i cannot afford but even so, getting that through the post is somewhat daunting.
just thought I`d let you know that this lady is not the only one and I know of many others who also receive these bills....
I think it is shameful that more people in the Jewish community don`t support this lady. She is not just trying to sort things out for her own family but for all families who wish to go to this school. Whether someone is rich or poor should not make any difference. Please, those of you who are Jewish, show you can be decent people and support this family in whatever way you can.
We have two children who have gone through KD schools and don't object in principle to the fees, although don't like the fact that the costs have risen year on year. There was one year when we couldn't afford to pay and this was accepted.
In Catholic voluntary aided schools, this funding is provided via the diocese on a regional basis. Perhaps there should be more contributions from synagogues and religious communal organisations towards the upkeep of Jewish schools.