Birmingham Al-Hijrah faith school has £3m budget deficit

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-31170472

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A Birmingham faith school is almost £3m in the red, the city council has said.

The headteacher at Al-Hijrah school was sacked last year and new governors were appointed amid claims of financial irregularities and poor standards.

The authority said repaying the deficit is the school's responsibility, but it is included in the council's accounts.

A separate inquiry is continuing into allegations £1m of public money from the school went to the construction of a school in Pakistan.

The council say the deficit is "due to the financial situation we inherited".

It has also warned the figure is likely to grow because the council has "a duty to improve the school environment and ensure the children have access to the resources they deserve".

The BBC has so far been unable to contact the school for a comment.

Al-Hijrah financial problems

The annual budget for running the school is £3m, which is government money passed on to Al-Hijrah through the council.

The school, which has almost 800 pupils aged from 4-16, has been in special measures after an Ofsted inspection in December 2013.

In May last year, a government-backed interim executive board (IEB) took over running the school, after Ofsted highlighted "a number of financial irregularities" left by the previous regime.

A council spokesman said further discussions will be taking place to determine "cost implications for next year's budget".

"It will effectively add to the deficit but we obviously have a duty to improve the school environment and ensure the children have access to the resources they deserve," the council said.