Inspection: private foundation SvPO unlawfully 'enriched'
The private Foundation for Personal Education has been 'significantly enriched' because it houses publicly financed real estate belonging to four SvPO schools. The Education Inspectorate has come to that conclusion in a recent investigation, as it turned out today during summary proceedings brought by the SvPO board at the court in The Hague. That contradicts the results.
Image: Court of The Hague
The inspection report should have been made public at the beginning of March, but SvPO director Misha van Denderen wanted to prevent publication by going to court. When and in what form this will still happen, the judge will decide on April 11. The session did offer an insight into the research findings and into the defense by the SvPO leadership. The Inspectorate qualifies the real estate investments paid for with government funding of the secondary schools - education money intended for personnel and operation - as unlawful expenditure. It was not clear today how much it is.
accommodated
In recent years, four of the eight Schools for Personal Education - in Hurdegaryp, Geldermalsen, Hoorn and Deventer - have realized new or renovated accommodation. The real estate is financed with tuition fees and parental contributions, and legally placed with the private Foundation for Personal Education, such as het Education magazine earlier this month reconstructed† This foundation has a so-called ANBI status as a charitable foundation: that aim is to facilitate the eight SvPO schools. Like the schools, this private foundation is chaired by founder Van Denderen. In contrast to the schools, a private foundation is not subject to inspection supervision.
School buildings have been realized and renovated with public money, while they have become the property of a foundation that is not under supervision
This foundation has been enriched "at the expense of the schools", the inspectorate stated today. “School buildings have been realized and renovated with public money, while they have become the property of a foundation that is not supervised.” The Inspectorate also criticizes the fact that parental contributions have been used for real estate expenditure, thereby “putting his parents on the wrong track”. Furthermore, the financial situation of the schools at the end of 2020 was "very worrying" and, according to the inspectorate, the annual reports of the schools give a too rosy financial picture, according to the argument. The Inspectorate has subjected the external auditor of SvPO to a review, it became clear today.
Coherence
On behalf of SvPO, lawyer Wouter Pors contradicted the criticism and conclusions. The Inspectorate has assessed all eight schools as independent foundations, because they are legally independent. In doing so, she disregarded the interrelationship in which “different foundations help each other”, Pors argued. A number of schools are “forced” to acquire accommodation because the municipalities in question “do not comply with their legal housing obligation”. He pointed to advanced plans to merge the eight schools. Incidentally, the private ANBI foundation will remain outside this. When asked why you would want to place school buildings in a separate foundation, Van Denderen responded: "To prevent the building from becoming the property of the municipality or minister if a school had to close."
The Inspectorate tries to blacken SvPO by a selective and tendentious coloring of assumed facts
Through the Accountants' Chamber, SvPO wants to have two inspectors tapped on the fingers under disciplinary law. During the hearing Pors spoke of a "hard hunt" for alleged abuses by the inspectorate, which SvPO would try to "blacken by a selective and tendentious coloring of assumed facts". The appearance of financial mismanagement or embezzlement of government money is wrongly created, according to the lawyer. “In reality, all the money has been spent on education.”
On April 20, the House of Representatives will debate the Schools for Personal Education. The Inspectorate has filed a report against SvPO director Van Denderen done† The Public Prosecution Service is not making any announcements about this.
Read other articles about SvPO on this site† Do you want to stay informed of everything that is going on in education? Join the AOb and receive the Education magazine every month.
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