Vol. 479 No. 1
52 Mr. Power asked the Minister for Education if she will ensure that a school (details supplied) in County Kildare, which was included in the disadvantaged areas scheme, does not lose a teacher in June 1997; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12351/97]
The staffing of a national school for a particular year is determined by the enrolment of the school on 30 September of the previous year.
The enrolment of the school referred to by the Deputy on 30 September 1996 was 498 pupils. This enrolment warrants a staffing of a principal and 16 assistant teachers for the 1997-98 school year. Accordingly, the seventeenth assistant's post at the school will be suppressed at the end of the current school year.
A maximum class size guideline of 29 applies in the case of classes in schools which are designated as disadvantaged. It is open to the managerial authorities of the school to apply to my Department to retain the seventeenth assistant's post at the school if the projected enrolment in September, 1997 is likely to breach this guideline.
