Partnerships have € 184 million too much on the shelf
Partnerships for appropriate education together hold EUR 184 million more in reserves than they need to absorb risks. Most of the settings exceed the new 'possibly excessive power' signaling value.
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The amounts amount to more than 8 million per organization, according to a list compiled by the Education Magazine. The financial analysis is based on the 2019 annual figures recently published by DUO published. The public equity of all partnerships in primary and secondary education amounts to 259 million euros. That is more than three times as much as the 79,5 million they would need in a risk buffer according to new signaling values which Minister of Education Arie Slob introduced for these organizations on the authority of the Education Inspectorate just before the summer.
The own upper limit can be calculated for each institution using a calculation. The formula amounts to 0,035 times the total benefits, with an absolute lower limit of 250 thousand euros. 137 of the 152 partnerships exceed the new signaling value, and often they do so by far. 62 organizations involved more than one million euros, 15 of them more than three million euros.
See the full list of 152 partnerships
Has an inaccuracy crept into the list? Mail us (akersten @aob.NL) and we put it right.
The signaling value gives an indication of possible excessive reserves. According to the Education Inspectorate, whoever is above it is not by definition a steward. However, partnerships must then provide text and explanation in their annual report. The inspectorate also keeps them on the radar. Minister Slob hopes to ensure that the reserves go off the shelf and end up in the classroom *On Thursday afternoon, the House of Representatives will debate about education funding. The AOb thinks the new signaling values are a first step in the right direction, but the approach is far too casual. Furthermore, the AOb that the cabinet must invest in stable, adequate funding, with clear requirements for spending the lump sum and better accountability. read the letter that the AOb to the House of Representatives..
Seven partnerships provided an explanation at the request of the Education Magazine. They acknowledge that they are above the new signaling value and indicate that they still want to spend the reserves in the coming years.
Planned
The Amsterdam-Diemen Secondary Education Partnership has nearly 11 million public assets, or 8,5 million more than the detection limit. Last year booked the organization had a surplus of half a million, while a deficit of the same size had been budgeted. According to director-director Ariëlle de Ruijter, the reserves grew partly due to a gift from the legal predecessor and late adjustments to the financing by the executive organization DUO. "It is certainly not the intention that these reserves become too 'high' and that the partnership retains money. The partnership uses these resources in the right way by ensuring that this ends up with the schools. This is done systematically and not in a time."
The Appropriate Primary Education Partnership in Rotterdam has built up 7,3 million in reserves, which is 6,2 million above the signaling value. "It is true that PPO Rotterdam has considerable equity. This has been the case since the start in 2014. The former WSNS organizations have transferred all reserves, which amounted to more than 5 million at the time. In the early years, the equity was further has grown because government contributions have turned out to be higher and the costs lower," responds policy advisor Lieke Withagen. "The 'excess' of equity capital is spread over several years and invested in projects around, for example, the connection of appropriate education and youth assistance and making education more inclusive."
See the full responses of the seven partnerships
The House of Representatives has long been urging education minister Arie Slob to take action against growing reserves in many partnerships. Since the introduction of appropriate education in 2014, these joint capacities have increased to about 260 million. And that while these organizations actually run few real financial risks, the minister acknowledged, who himself also said that in his stomach sat.
Last year, the 152 partnerships in primary and secondary education recorded a small deficit of 1 million euros for the first time. It is noticeable that the partnerships in primary education went into the red for 3,2 million, and thus made some payments on their reserves, while their counterpart organizations in secondary education posted a plus of 2,1 million. The equity of all organizations together remained virtually the same.
Correction: An earlier version of this post reported that partnerships hold $ 179 million in potentially excessive reserves. That amount included not only the settings that exceed the signaling value, but also the settings that remain below it.
