 Barry Gardiner said the overspends must be resolved |
Crisis meetings have been held by two education and library boards reprimanded for overspending their budgets totalling �11m last year. The South Eastern board presented a robust defence of its �5.7m overspend on Thursday, while the Belfast board has been discussing a plan to cut a similar overspend.
The SEELB's plans would reduce this figure to about �4.8m, a figure which BBC Northern Ireland education correspondent Maggie Taggart said would probably not be enough to satisfy Education Minister Barry Gardiner.
In August, Mr Gardiner told the two boards that the savings, aimed at keeping the budgets on target and paying back the overspend, should not affect schoolchildren.
The South Eastern board has prepared analyses of its special needs and transport budgets to demonstrate that increasing costs beyond its control had led to the overspend.
The board said it had to meet statutory obligations and would not take any action to prejudice the education or safety of pupils.
It has already put in place a number of cost-cutting measures, including not filling vacant posts in its headquarters and no longer employing temporary agency staff.
The Belfast board also met to approve a spending plan, but there has been no comment on what was decided.
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