Education bosses are calling on the States to keep £2.2m of annual education funding within the island’s schools after a major philanthropic gift to Elizabeth College and The Ladies’ College.
The Chairs of Governance Boards representing Alderney and Guernsey’s States schools want the money released by the gift to be reinvested in education, rather than absorbed into wider government savings.
In a letter to the President of Education, Sport & Culture (ESC), they said: “We are not asking for new money.
“We are asking that money already committed to educating Guernsey’s children continues to be spent on educating Guernsey’s children.”
The Chairs said they “fully welcome” the philanthropic gift and the benefits it is expected to bring to the wider island, including bursaries, sport, creative arts and an AI and Innovation Hub.
Their concern is solely about what happens to the public funding the gift would make available.
They want priority given to additional learning needs, recruitment and retention, and the condition of the education estate.
The letter has been unanimously agreed and endorsed by the Chairs of Governance Boards across the States-maintained and voluntary education sectors.
They are Andrew Ogier, Anna Rivers, Elizabeth Dene, Ian Carter, Jon Buckland, Robert Sillars, Stuart Jehan and Yvonne Hodder.
