Employers of £250,000 school chief say he's worth it

A top national education boss was today under fire over his £250,000 taxpayer-funded salary.

Sir Bruce Liddington left his post as the Government's leading schools official last year to take charge of E-ACT, a private group running state-funded city academies.

Besides his salary he is eligible for a discretionary bonus of another £12,500 a year, making him one of the highest-paid figures in state education.

Union officials condemned Sir Bruce's "ludicrous" salary package as a "waste of taxpayers' money". His employers insisted he was worth it.

E-ACT runs eight state-funded academies, including two in London, and its operations are largely funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Teachers at one of them, Crest Boys Academy in Brent, are preparing to strike over the threat of compulsory redundancies imposed to cut costs.

Hank Roberts, NUT branch secretary for Brent, said Sir Bruce's salary did not represent "value" for taxpayers. He said: "There is no justification for astronomical salaries. This is taxpayer's money."

Mr Roberts said Crest teachers were furious that staff were facing redundancy as E-ACT attempts to cut costs. When the group took over at the school a year ago, teachers were promised no jobs would be lost, he said.

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers attacked payments to sponsors. Martin Johnson, the union's deputy general secretary, said: "The academies programme is, among other things, unnecessarily expensive. Any sum paid to the sponsor rather than the school is a waste of money."

Before taking over as director general of E-ACT, Sir Bruce was the Government's Schools Commissioner. He was also responsible for developing Labour's programme to open 400 academies in England.

Academies are privately sponsored and semi-independent schools set up to transform weak state comprehensives in tough areas, often with new buildings typically costing around £30 million each.

They are funded by the taxpayer but have far more freedom over their own affairs than community comprehensives. As E-ACT's director general, Sir Bruce earns more than Gordon Brown.

An E-ACT official said: "Sir Bruce's salary after pension contributions is £250,000. In addition the director general is eligible for a discretionary bonus of five per cent of salary.

"He is an outstanding national leader in education and his remuneration package reflects his unique skills and experience. We have hired probably the most experienced person in the country. Our achievement in opening eight academies with at least five in development is a reflection of this."