FIVE teachers are facing redundancy at troubled De La Salle College.
Governors wrote to staff before Christmas saying cuts were needed due to the "current and future financial situation".
The school said there was a need to "reduce the level of teaching staff by up to five teachers". It is considering applications for voluntary redundancy.
Hundreds of cash-strapped schools are careering towards serious financial difficulties. Many are struggling to tighten their belts because millions of pounds have been taken out of the system.
Major changes to funding are also taking their toll. Schools must now pick up the tab for increases in employers' contributions to national insurance and superannuation. Many warn this will cost them tens of thousands of pounds, with the cash coming straight out of their budget. For some, this means making staff redundant.
Parents at De La Salle said they were "absolutely horrified" by the news adding that they feared as many as seven staff - one in 10 of the teaching work force - could go.
"We are disgusted that the board of governors can even dare to contemplate staff redundancies right before exam periods. This will have a detrimental impact on teaching and learning," a parents' group said.
Last year, an independent panel found that a serious breakdown of working relationships impacted substantially on pupils at the west Belfast school.
It said some staff "described a culture of fear" and made claims of "bullying and intimidating behaviour".
The school was in turmoil over a breakdown in relations between some of the 70-strong staff and principal Claire White.
