The total sum now sitting in schools’ bank accounts is £6m more than the previous year, according to latest figures received by Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet.
Michael Waine, the cabinet member responsible for schools improvement, is now demanding answers for the dramatic rise.
Headteachers at schools with excessive bank balances will be ordered to attend a meeting with councillors and senior officers, where they must either give a good reason for holding back funds or be ordered to spend it.
"We believe the present sum of money to be too high and we want schools to spend that on improving the education of children in Oxfordshire now. They must use today's money for today's children," he said.
He says there could be a variety of reasons why such a large sum is being held back. These include saving for a large IT project, as a safeguard against emergencies or to use while awaiting late grant allocations.
"The county council is on hand to help and advise about that process of spending the money they have whenever needed. We are in no doubt that this must happen sooner rather than later," Waine added.
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