THE Cebu City Government has about P2.1 billion for the Special Education Fund (SEF), City Treasurer Mare Vae Fernandez-Reyes announced Monday, Jan. 23, 2023.

Reyes said the City Government allocates more or less P400 million every year or 33.3 percent of the total tax collected from real property.

The city treasurer said the SEF has increased over time because its surplus in the previous year is carried over to the next year.

After the approval of the Local School Board (LSB), the SEF can be spent by the city government for the construction of school buildings, maintenance, sports-related activities and other operating expenses of the Department of Education.

At least 33.3 percent of the income derived from real property taxes that cover houses, business establishments, lots, machinery such as automated teller machines, elevators, escalators, among others, goes to the SEF. The remaining 66.6 percent goes to the General Fund.

Dr. Bernadette Susvilla, Cebu City Schools Division superintendent, said the city has a total population of 183,878 students coming from its 80 barangays.

Because of this, Susvilla said, they need 408 new classrooms to reduce congestion in classes and to give the students a comfortable learning environment.

She added that only 279 of 872 classrooms that were damaged by Tyhoon Odette (Rai) have so far been repaired.

In general, Susvilla said, DepEd Cebu City has 1,426 classrooms that need repair, which they will endorse for funding during the next LSB meeting. (PAC / TPT)