Schools around the country are increasingly concerned about the high cost of paying for water charges, school managers have said.
According to Mr George O'Callaghan, of the Joint Managerial Body (JMB) which represents the majority of school managers, his organisation has received a number of calls from its members in recent weeks about the issue.
Mr O'Callaghan said the problem was that schools were charged commercial rates.
"They are treated as commercial enterprises rather than not-for-profit organisations.
"But a school's income is capped according to their annual capitation grant," he said. "So the high water charges do cause a lot of hardship for schools."
Mr O'Callaghan's comments followed the recent revelation that parents of pupils attending a Killarney secondary school, St Brendan's College, are considering fielding a candidate in the local elections to protest at what they say are unacceptably high water charges paid by schools in the town.
The three secondary schools in the town have paid almost €40,000 between them in water charges in the last three years.
The charges, based on metered water consumption, have been set at the same commercial rate as some of Ireland's top hotels located in the town.
According to Mr O'Callaghan, the level at which a school's water charges are set can also vary greatly depending on the size and location of the school.
However, some of his members would have seen their water charges increase by up to 70 per cent in the past number of years.
"Part of this is due to inflation," he said. "But another erlement is the change in the funding of local authorities.
"They now have to raise their funds from local sources, so they increase charges such as water and refuse."
In this context there was a need, he added, for discussions at national level between school managers, the Department of Education and Science, and the Department of the Environment and Local Government.
These discussions would have to work to find a solution to the problem of charges faced by schools.
"The Kerry example is unlikely to be the last," he said."It is an acute example of something that is happening elsewhere in the country as well.
"It is an issue that needs to be addressed as there are other schools in a similar situation," Mr O'Callaghan said.