CONCERNS have been expressed about the financial state of schools around the county.

A meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s Richmondshire constituency committee heard while spare funding at schools throughout the county was dwindling, school funding would be hardest pressed in the rural northern district.

Members were told as more of the council-run schools became financially challenged their abilities to stay out of special measures would be reduced, leading to more schools having to become academies.

They said it was “deeply unfair” the council then had to pick up the deficits of schools that are forced to become academies.

The council’s Conservative leaders maintain the reason why the county’s schools are facing financial crisis is due to the Government schools in neighbouring local authorities receiving considerably more per-pupil than schools in North Yorkshire.

The meeting heard while the council appreciated the Government was facing complex issues over Brexit, it would push for more equitable funding.

Gary Fielding, the authority’s strategic resources director, said while schools had been “pleading poverty” in the years before 2015, the drop in total balances schools in the county had seen since had been stark.

North Yorkshire’s local authority maintained schools had a collective balance of £33.3m in 2015/16, but the following year this fell to £25.2m and in £2017/18 to £17.9m. Schools across the county have predicted they will have a collective balance of just £3.7m this year.

Mr Fielding said it was thought secondary schools would face the greatest financial plight, setting a collective deficit of £661,000 this year, where in 2012 they had had a £12.2m balance. Primary schools are expected to set a collective balance of £4.7m this year.

He said: “That is very worrying.”