An extra £7 million is being devolved into local schools, we can reveal.

Bradford council education chairman Cllr Susanne Rooney told the KN that a new financial strategy is to be implemented to ensure that education is treated as a priority. She refers to this as 'devolved funding.'

A committee of head-teachers, including Oakbank head John Roberts and council committee officers, are meeting on a regular basis to discuss how to divert more money into schools.

She says approximately £7 million is being devolved into schools.

Opposition Conservative councillors claim Keighley's schools are among those which have suffered job losses due to mismanaged spending by Labour-run Bradford council. They believe over 200 teaching jobs have been lost through an under-spend on the council's part. The opposition group, led by Cllr Margaret Eaton, alleges the Labour council has cost every school in the district £27,000 - the cost of one teaching or support staff post per school.

A Conservative spokesman says: "In the current year, Labour education chair Susanne Rooney has restricted education spending to £3.2 million below the target level set by education secretary, David Blunkett. The move follows last year's decision to withhold £6.4 million of the money earmarked by Mr Blunkett."

Cllr Rooney says since she has only been committee chair man for a year it is 'nave' to blame her for education being underfunded.

She says: "This year, we have put more in education than we have ever done. When I became chair, I pledged that we would put £6 million into education as soon as possible - the first £2 million was invested last year and another £2 million will be put in this year and next."

She says that Keighley's secondary schools have greatly benefited from specialist school schemes. She explains: "There is a special learning centre at Greenhead, so children in Keighley who are coming across problems - for example bereavement or family problems - have a special unit."

Greenhead, Oakbank and Holy Family have all benefited from recent spending schemes, she feels.

She says the financial organisation of the council has been turned around to make imp-rovements rather than cutbacks.

"Bradford's education achievements are not high enough - I admit that," she says. "Since I have come into education, I have done a lot of reorganisation. Flockton House (the council's education HQ) is being streamlined. We are the sixth cheapest centralised administration in the country.

"This has meant we are understaffed, because we are trying to put as much into schools as possible."

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