Pupils will bear the brunt of budget cuts
Over £40m savings needed
Dozens of teaching posts will be axed, crèches will be cancelled, the cost of school pupils’ music tuition will more than triple and swimming lessons will be stopped if a lengthy list of savings are accepted when Perth and Kinross Council sets its budget this week.
In addition to being asked to approve all of the above elected members will also be asked to authorise putting up council tax a further three per cent this year as well as increasing the already unpopular new garden waste permit charge being brought in this year from £25 a year to £30 a year as of April 2019/20.
Under the proposals, which will be put before the full council on Thursday, 23 secondary school teaching positions will be cut over the next two years along with a further 26 primary school teaching posts so officials struggling to find savings of around £40m over the next three years can save around £2.2m.
The budget paper justifies scrapping the secondary school roles by saying these schools currently have “enhanced staffing” and that the reduction would mean Perth and Kinross Council “would revert to nationally agreed Plans to scrap recycling centres like this one in Crieff look to be off the table maximum class sizes for English and Maths in S1 and S2”.
The document goes on to acknowledge this proposal “may impact on attainment and achievement of pupils” and that “fewer teachers in school would mean a reduction in personal support for pupils” resulting in “larger classes and potentially more discipline issues arising in and out of school”.
Officials have also recommended cancelling council-run crèches cutting another eight full-time posts to save a further £221,000 over the next two years whilst acknowledging that “families with poorer economic situations and isolated from other support are likely to be more disadvantaged by this proposal”.
In addition councillors will be asked to sanction removing a team dedicated to supporting “the most vulnerable children” in Perth and Kinross to save another £250,000 over the next three years despite the budget paper stating children currently experiencing poverty, deprivation and abuse “will be further adversely impacted” by this proposal.
Meanwhile families face having to pay vastly increased music tuition fees for their children as officers have recommended parents be charged the full cost of Instrumental Music Service tuition resulting in the annual charge for this service rising from £245.85 to £817 per pupil.
Free swimming lessons for pupils are also being recommended for the chop so the council can save a further £60,000 over the next two years despite the budget paper acknowledging children from low income families may not be able to access lessons as a result.
As the extent of the cuts officers have recommended be approved over the next few years became clear over the weekend with the publication of the council’s proposed revenue budget on Friday, Strathmore Cllr Colin Stewart announced a separate proposal that some recycling sites across Perth and Kinross be closed would not be supported by his Conservative colleagues.
Speaking for the group Councillor Stewart said: “We in the administration simply felt that the closure of local recycling centres outside Perth was an unpalatable option, and would undermine our commitment to maintaining the excellent environment we all enjoy.”