A councillor has called the financial situation faced by Cardiff's schools "a ticking time bomb" as more than a quarter will set deficit budgets for the year. Councillor Rodney Berman, the Liberal Democrat group leader at Cardiff Council, raised his concerns at a full council meeting on Friday, June 29.
A total of 39 schools across Cardiff will be setting deficit budgets for 2023-24. This is made up of 34 primary schools, four secondary schools and one special needs school. It represents 34% of the total number of primary schools in the city, 22% of secondary schools and 14% of special needs schools.
Cllr Berman said: "That is quite a substantial percentage of both primary and secondary schools that are effectively setting budgets to spend more than what they are actually getting in funding and the reason they are having to do that - and I know because I am on the governing body of two primary schools that are having to set deficit budgets - is because it is the only way they can meet their statutory staffing obligations, but it does suggest to me that there is a huge ticking time bomb here because these schools cannot carry on setting deficit budgets year after year."
