CAGAYAN de Oro's allocation for public schools for this year stands at P95 million, a large portion of which will pay for security.
As required by law, the amount represents one percent of the total budget of the city for year, which stands at P1.4 billion, said City Treasurer Lino D. Daral.
Around P58 million of the school board budget will go to the salary of school watchmen, including additional allowances for teachers, at P6,000 each per annum. Each public school is manned by two to three security personnel, depending on its size.
Five million pesos will be spent for school supplies, including funds for sports events, school bags for children, chalk, diplomas, and similar needs.
Daral said the local school board committee has already drafted the specifications of budget allocations since November last year.
The committee is composed of the city treasurer, the city mayor, principals, some teachers, federation of parent-teachers association and the Cagayan de Oro Public School Teachers Association (COPSTEA).
The allocations, he said, were based on the actual request of the members of the committee and the priorities of schools, especially those that were identified by the principals and teachers.
"For now, we have already addressed the major concerns of the schools, especially in building additional classrooms, chairs, tables and other necessary school facilities," he said.
Of the P95 million budget recommended by the committee, P4,050,000 was allocated for the capital outlay to fund the building and renovations of the schools at both urban and rural areas of the city.
Daral the local school board is paying not less than P500 thousand every month for the schools' water and electric bills. "We also allocate funds for land acquisitions," he said.
From last year's budget, approximately P12 million was considered surplus by the committee, which was used as supplemental allocation for giving special awards to local sports achievers. (Loui S. Maliza)