A council probe has been launched into alleged financial mismanagement at a secondary school which has plunged £2m in the red.
The chairman of governors at Wentworth High, in Ellesmere Park, Salford, has been served with a warning notice by the council.
Town hall auditors have been investigating the school for months. The governors have been ordered to produce an action plan to tackle the deficit within 15 days.
If they don’t, the council could take over management of the school’s £3.5m annual budget.The governors are also holding talks with Jeremy Keeble, the head of the 750-pupil school.
Michael Hingston, chairman of governors, said: “The council is concerned that we have not reduced the staffing levels at the school to a level which they will be happy with.”
Norman Owen, leader of Salford’s Liberal Democrat opposition, said: “In view of the size of the debt I think it is imperative that, as a neutral act, the headteacher is relieved of his duties for the time being while a full investigation is completed.”
The M.E.N. reported in July how a teacher, Gary Day-Davies, was sacked after complaining to the council and Salford and Eccles MP Hazel Blears about the school’s management. Mr Day-Davies, 39, intends to take his case to an employment tribunal. He had spent 12 months suspended on full pay – receiving about £35,000 – before being dismissed. The council is concerned at the amount of money the school spent on legal advice.
The council is looking into the cases of four other teachers who left the school after alleged disputes with managers and who received ‘compromise’ payments totalling about £60,000.
Academic results at the school have improved dramatically in the last three years. In 2007 just 25 per cent of pupils achieved five A to C GCSE passes.
That rose to 45 per cent last year. Wentworth High was said, in an Ofsted report earlier this year, to be a ‘good school’ which provided ‘outstanding care’.
Last year, when the school had a deficit of £708,000, Mr Keeble said it was because of fewer pupils in the year groups transferring from primary school.
Council spokeswoman Margaret Morris said: “The decision to issue a formal warning notice is a serious matter.
“We hope the governing body will swiftly address the areas of concern.”
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They have a £3.5M budget and got £2M in the red. Bloody Hell. That's some overspend.
Labour would normally bail them out which is how we got in this mess anyway.
Spending hard earned tax payers money like it was free cash.
How were they allowed to go so far into the red? When were the alarm bells first ringing at the Town Hall? Who sanctioned the spending?
A typical Bramhall opinion. Do you not think that the conservatives would have bailed out the banks too?? Do you not think they would have done the same or much worse with our "hard earned taxes", to save the "hard earning bankers". Yes they would.
But because this is an overspend on Salford and the education of the lower classes, its an outrage.
£2m overspend equates to approximately 0.001% of what we've lost through bailing out your mates.
Where are the cuts coming today, from the party to so love and trust? From Salford and the likes?? Of course. They wont be in Bramhall will they.
Have they got a Maths Teacher?
The school will have a delegated budget so in the first instance the school's finance officer and ultimately the headteacher and the Governors are responsible for financial management. I agree with the Leader of Salford's Lib Dem Opposition - key staff need to be suspended to allow a full investigation to take place
The governors aren't very forthcoming with their dealings, you'd expect some more information to be on the school's website, but that's not been updated since 2009. Shouldn't governing body minutes (providing they're not dealing with sensitive information such as discpline or staffing) be available to the public?
Of course, they could always turn themselves into an academy, clearing their debts by transferring them to the council so that the rest of Salford schools all suffer instead.
They could start selling uniforms to the kids. Always a good little earner. ;-)
oliver baddlesworth-smythe spot on
Not been the same since Harrop left. :-)
Gary Day-Davis was justified wasn't he? Hope he gets the compensation he deserves!We need whistleblowers in Salford.
I know what Mr Keeble has spent some of his budget on,,,,,,,,,SHOES!
My son wore plain black sensible boots to school on Friday. apparently they have been banned and all pupils must wear shoes. There were at least 3 pupils in my son's class alone. However, Mr Keeble has bought a large stock of shoes for pupils to wear if they turn up in boots. Because they did not have my son's size they excluded him from class and left him in the corridor alone ALL day! Those who committed the same 'crime' who got their boots exchanged were allowed to stay in class! What will happen to shoes when everyone has the correct footwear? They are all now second hand and a health risk . An absolute waste of money.
It's something along the line of "shutting the gate after the horse has bolted."
What is now being done is nothing but futile attempts to be seen doing something.
The gardening leave of the head, the probe into the finances and the concern of governors and council are empty efforts.
Both the Governors and the Council allowed these debts to run up and need to be made accountable for what has happened. It is not just the Headteacher who is at fault or the only one who should be asked to leave or step down.