Protecting the derelict former Senacre school site in Maidstone from vandals and break-ins has cost Kent County Council more than £60,000 in just one year.
The £60,240 bill to safeguard the now empty school in Sutton Road accounted for a fifth of nearly £300,000 the council has had to spend on 15 vacant school premises across the county.
A further £9,000 was spent on maintenance for mothballed buildings on the Maidstone site.
Figures disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act to the KM show that last year, KCC spent £290,000 on security and maintenance at nine primary schools and six secondary school sites.
In the case of Senacre, the costs dwarf those for all other schools. The site became vacant when the school was merged with Oldborough Manor to form the New Line Learning Academy and has been earmarked for housing development.
Most of the other costs were associated with primary school sites left empty after a wide-ranging shake up that led to closures and mergers affecting some 30 schools.