School Prefabs

[Sumatra]

I can't understand the logic of schools having to rent prefabs to provide extra classrooms when actually getting a loan to build a classroom would cost a lot less and would benefit construction industry employment.

Who negotiates the paying of such a high rent for these prefabs and for so lomng and which lucky individual is benefiting?

Money is not available to provide much needed resources such as special needs assistants and teachers in our classrooms. We tighten our belts in the recent budget yet under our noses money is willfully wasted on renting prefabs? In my opinion it is a disgrace.

 

[briancbyrne]

was a big debate on this subject on Matt cooper 2 months ago.
Dept of education negotiate the costs and there are 2 to 3 major suppliers in the country. Surprise surprise the gov were paying way over the odds.
Bat O'Keefe blew his trumpet for 10 mins about how HE had instituted a reform program where these prefabs were now been bought and not rented

 

[Bubbly Scot]

Who negotiates the paying of such a high rent for these prefabs and for so lomng and which lucky individual is benefiting?

I can speak as someone who spent a large part of last years schools summer holiday organising a prefab for my daughters school. Myself and another member of the Board of Management negotiated the contract with the supplier after getting the obligatory three quotes. We then employed every resource available to us (including local politicians) to secure the funding.

There was no money available in any form for new build and as daft as it seemed to everyone thinking logically, the rent of a prefab was the only way to go.

Wouldn't mind but two months later we took the decision to move the child to a school closer to home

 

[Sumatra]

Bubbly, very frustrating being on BOM and realising this is a complete waste of money and such a valuable resource could be diverted elsewhere. If as a BOM you had the same money available to you, you could build the classroom and still have money to fund a SNA etc.

Brian, missed the program but as you say it was before the budget. They knew they were paying way over the odds yet as far as I know there was no effort made to reduce the expenditure or if they were contractually bound to present schemes to make sure a new facility was in place for a more cost effective use of tax payers money. Instead it seems it was easier to shred other aspects of the education system to bits.

 

[baldyman27]

We used to do a lot of groundworks for prefabs in schools and the cost of them was ridiculous. The principals used to tell me that their hands were tied as they only had so much of a budget every year. In one school the head told me that they had priced a new building but couldn't secure funding even though 3 years of renting the prefab aswell as paying for the groundworks, etc. would have paid for the building. A ridiculous situation.

 

[Bubbly Scot]

Bubbly, very frustrating being on BOM and realising this is a complete waste of money and such a valuable resource could be diverted elsewhere. If as a BOM you had the same money available to you, you could build the classroom and still have money to fund a SNA etc.

Don't get me started on the SNA fiasco! Sadly, by changing schools I had to resign from the BOM. My year and bit taught me a lot I didn't know about funding and politics and I recall being more frustrated than anything else.

All that aside though, I did enjoy supervising the refurb, it was along the lines of what I was doing for a living anyway.

 

[Sumatra]

Primary school prefabs

Excellent report by Colin Gleeson in the ST 26.04.09.

800 Irish Primary schools are teaching pupils in 1,885 prefabs.

Just 5 companies have 40% of the contracts (Roankabin 224 prefabs, Extraspace 166, Maccomm/McEvoy Arben systems 148, Instaspace 138 and Masterkabin 114).

One school in Cork rents 29 prefabs and has paid €3 million in rent over 10 years.

In the article it surprised me that the minister said he has already started a review and is meeting suppliers to negotiate cost reductions.

Wouldn't renegotiating current rents and moving away from prefabs by constructing classrooms be a better solution and one that is both in the children's and the tax payers best interests ?