Killinchy Primary School’s principal, Chris Currie, has recently claimed that the school is facing monetary pressures so severe that fundraising has become a requirement for the school to survive. Currie states that the budget allocated to the school is inadequate, and they don’t have enough money to maintain the school as a viable institution. Fundraising has thus become a central aspect of school administration, with much of Currie’s working time spent raising cash to ensure the school’s provision of fundamental resources, including “basic staff costs.”
Following his appearance on the BBC’s Sunday Politics program, Currie stated that Killinchy Primary’s staff costs had exceeded its allotted budget by more than 100%, preventing the school from benefiting from a balanced budget. The school had to merge some classes, which resulted in larger class sizes and more complex teaching arrangements, with a negative impact on students.
The school’s parent-teacher association, in particular, has been crucial in generating funds to replace whiteboards that had stopped functioning and, as Currie indicated in a statement to BBC News NI, to replace outdated reading books, with some older books held together with tape. Moreover, an additional £45,000 was spent on heating and electricity, putting massive financial pressure on the school before it even began operations.
According to Currie, as chair of the National Association of Head Teachers’ Primary Committee, fundraising has contributed to many primary school administrators having to perform charitable work, which is now part of their daily routine. He added that every school he had been in contact with faced similar issues, as fundraising has become part of what school leaders must do to ensure that children have a good experience
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