Southampton schools battle to balance the books
14 schools in the city face a combined deficit of £3.7m
14 schools in Southampton are having trouble balancing the books.
New data has revealed they are facing a combined deficit of £3.7 million - down from £4.5 million at the end of 2022/23.
Southampton City Council said it was working with them on a recovery plan.
A three-year deficit recovery timetable may be extended to five years for those that have experienced "significant" Covid-19 pressures.
28 schools in the city are projecting a surplus balance of £6.7 million, compared to surpluses totalling £9.5 million last year, resulting in a net surplus of £3.0 million.
Nationally, statistics show there has been a significant rise in the number of schools running a negative budget.
Some 13.1 per cent of local authority-run schools in England had a deficit in 2022/23 – an almost 50 per cent rise on the year before.
Financial difficulties were especially problematic for nurseries, with almost a third in a deficit across England in 2022/23.