Debt of School Districts Rises Again, with the Inner-Budapest School District Center Accumulating the Largest Debt of 340 Million
The very district center recently saw the arrest of its financial leader for corruption-related crimes.
Despite the government providing approximately 1.8 billion forints in December last year to settle the debt of the school district centers, many districts accumulated new debts in January - according to data from the Hungarian State Treasury.
By January, out of 60 districts, 26 had a total overdue debt of 1.88 billion forints, with seven of these exceeding or nearing 100 million forints in debt.
The situation slightly improved by February, with the total debt of the district centers reduced by 281 million forints to 1.599 billion forints, spread across 20 districts. Some centers, such as those in Dunakeszi, East-Pest, Miskolc, Szeged, and Tatabánya, managed to clear their debts and had no outstanding amounts in February. The Mátészalka School District Center reduced its debt to 81 million forints, and the Vác School District Center to 97 million forints.
Meanwhile, districts like Balatonfüred, Esztergom, and Kaposvár, which had no debts in January, reported liabilities in February. The debt of the Békéscsaba School District Center notably increased from 39 million forints in January to 155 million forints. However, the highest indebtedness remained with the Inner-Budapest School District Center at 336 million forints.
Our publication reported last fall that several school districts had accumulated significant debts.
The Klebelsberg Center (KC), responsible for overseeing the finances of the school district centers, stated that in "some" cases, utility bills had not been paid, with the government providing compensation at the end of December. However,
The KC previously maintained that the districts' debts were not concerning, amounting to less than 0.5% of the combined budgets of the districts.
In response to our inquiries about the financial management of school districts, the KC typically states that these centers are independent fiscal entities and make their economic decisions independently. This comes even though government regulation on the operation and duties of the KC suggests that overseeing the financial management of school district centers is among its responsibilities.
By January, out of 60 districts, 26 had a total overdue debt of 1.88 billion forints, with seven of these exceeding or nearing 100 million forints in debt.
The situation slightly improved by February, with the total debt of the district centers reduced by 281 million forints to 1.599 billion forints, spread across 20 districts. Some centers, such as those in Dunakeszi, East-Pest, Miskolc, Szeged, and Tatabánya, managed to clear their debts and had no outstanding amounts in February. The Mátészalka School District Center reduced its debt to 81 million forints, and the Vác School District Center to 97 million forints.
Meanwhile, districts like Balatonfüred, Esztergom, and Kaposvár, which had no debts in January, reported liabilities in February. The debt of the Békéscsaba School District Center notably increased from 39 million forints in January to 155 million forints. However, the highest indebtedness remained with the Inner-Budapest School District Center at 336 million forints.
Our publication reported last fall that several school districts had accumulated significant debts.
The Klebelsberg Center (KC), responsible for overseeing the finances of the school district centers, stated that in "some" cases, utility bills had not been paid, with the government providing compensation at the end of December. However,
The KC previously maintained that the districts' debts were not concerning, amounting to less than 0.5% of the combined budgets of the districts.
In response to our inquiries about the financial management of school districts, the KC typically states that these centers are independent fiscal entities and make their economic decisions independently. This comes even though government regulation on the operation and duties of the KC suggests that overseeing the financial management of school district centers is among its responsibilities.
Translation:
Translated by AI
