Several local schools in and around Newtown will not have to pay extra cash they have in their bank accounts back to Powys County Council.
Newtown High School, Treowen Primary School, Ysgol Dafydd Llwyd, Montgomery Primary School, Llanidloes Primary School and Llanfair Caereinion County Primary School are among 16 in Powys that can now keep hteir surplus budgets.
Back in June, PCC’s Cabinet agreed that the education portfolio holder, Cllr Myfanwy Alexander, is allowed to make the decision on whether to ask for the money back or not.
The schools under the spotlight were written to and asked for reasons why they have a surplus? And what they were planning to do with the money?
PCC’s school finances scheme says that primary schools need to have more than £50,000 extra to be subject to the process called “clawback”.
Secondary and special schools need to have more than £100,000 to be subject to paying the money back to the authority.
This money would then go back into the general education funding pot.
Schools finance business partner, Nancy Owen, said: “All schools have submitted reasons for the surplus being in excess of the balance in the June 2018 cabinet report.”
“This has been accepted by Schools Service Senior Management and therefore clawback should not be applied.”
The report adds that the Schools Service Management Team “are content” with the reasons set out in the schools responses.
They believe that the schools under question: “are demonstrating appropriate use of the surplus in future years and therefore clawback should not be applied.”
The report explains that the reasons given by the schools and their projected financial position for 2018/19, is being kept confidential.
The schools under question are:
Builth Wells (county primary)
Buttington Trewern
Guilsfield
Knighton
Llanfair Caereinion (county primary)
Llanidloes
Montgomery
Mount St CP Junior (Brecon)
Treowen (Newtown)
Welshpool Church in Wales Primary School
Ysgo Bro Tawe (Ystradgynlais)
Ysgol Dafydd Llwyd (Newtown)
Ysgol y Cribarth (Abercrave)
Gwernyfed High School
Newtown High School
Ysgol Penmaes (Brecon).
Photo: Newtown High School, one of 16 in Powys that won't have to pay its surplus budget back to Powys County Council
By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service
