School in West Berkshire threatens council with lawsuit over budget

A school is preparing legal action against a local authority which it accuses of taking money from its budget.

West Berkshire Council has agreed to take around £2.85 million from eight local schools – partly to reduce a £9 million debt burden in its special educational needs budget.

The headmaster of the Downs School in Newbury has written to parents outlining his plans to sue the local council over its financial problems.

However, the council told the BBC that the move would “enable the money to be used more fairly and productively”.

In his letter to parents at the weekend, Chris Prosser, headteacher of The Downs School, said the council had withheld £490,000 of the £700,000 the school had raised through fundraising.

“This money is self-generated income raised through the hard work of the school, staff and parents,” he wrote.

“West Berkshire Council’s actions jeopardised the essential maintenance and improvement work we had planned.”

The authority’s decision to cut funding was announced at a recent meeting of the Schools Forum – a body of local schools independent of the council.

Another school involved, Brookfields, is a specialist SEN school in Reading which is currently preparing to apply for academy status.

This would mean that the school would have greater control over its finances and how they are used.

Heather Codling, the council’s executive member for children and family services, said: “This is a decision made jointly by the schools to improve the provision of supports and services for all children and young people in the borough.”

“This step will allow for a fairer and more productive use of the money – I believe it is the right thing for our citizens,” she added.

The council also announced that it had sent one of its auditors to examine the Downs School’s accounts.