Parents in battle over £4m cuts for schools
PARENTS across Fife have joined forces to condemn budget cuts after the local authority unveiled plans to slash £4 million from education services over the next two years.
Parent councils from eight secondary schools signed a joint statement to “express our opposition” due to the “impact on educational provision and opportunities for our young people”.
The families argue the council proposals will “materially damage” educational outcomes for all pupils.
The move comes after leadership teams from each of the secondary schools identified areas where money could be saved, including a reduction in subjects on offer, with those under threat including computing and business administration.
Expensive practical courses are also at risk.
Some schools are considering cuts to supply cover when teachers are absent and a reduction in the number of specialist staff trained to deal with pupils who have additional support needs.
Fife Council said the submission would be assessed as part of discussions on the budget.
HUNDREDS of parents from across Fife have joined forces to fight school cuts.
Parent councils from eight secondary schools have signed a joint statement condemning the scale of reductions to budgets.
The families argue the council proposals will “materially damage” educational outcomes for all pupils.
The move comes after Fife Council unveiled plans to cut £4 million from education services over the next two years, including almost £2m from secondary schools.
The joint statement said: “We express our opposition to the scale of the budget cuts imposed by Fife Council because of their impact on educational provision and opportunities for our young people.
“Although we recognise Fife Council has to make difficult spending decisions, these cuts are so large they will have a fundamental impact on all our secondary schools, now and in the long term.
“The reduction in funding for our schools... are wholly inconsistent with Fife Council’s own vision of improving life chances for all.”
The move comes after school leadership teams from each of the secondary schools identified areas where money could be saved.
These include a reduction in subjects on offer, with those under threat including computing and business administration. Expensive practical courses are also at risk.
Some schools are considering cuts to supply cover when teachers are absent and a reduction in the number of specialist staff trained to deal with pupils who have additional support needs.
Other possibilities include an increase in class sizes, a shortening of the school week, and increased teacher workload following a reduction in administrative staff.
The statement concludes: “Overall, we believe the scale of the cuts over the next two years means educational quality for the young people of Fife will be reduced below an acceptable minimum.
“These budget cuts will materially damage the educational outcomes for all our young people, creating larger, more expensive problems in the future with an ill-equipped workforce, with less mental resilience.
“We would like to know how these false economies are justified by our elected representatives in Fife Council.”
Fay Sinclair, convener of the council’s education committee, said the submission would be assessed as part of discussions on the budget.
She said: “We would like to thank the parent councils of Fife for taking the time to provide us with such well-thought-out feedback and we will be responding to them directly.
“The points they have raised here, along with the information we have had from staff and school management, will help us as we prepare next year’s budget. “
David Alexander and David Ross, the co-leaders of Fife Council, have previously warned the cost of education, some £350m, accounts for about half the overall budget.
A recent joint statement said: “Over the years we have protected spend on education, but, like every other service provided, education has to take a share of the savings we are required to make.
“To protect education completely would mean virtually wiping out many other vital council services.”
These cuts are so large they will have a fundamental impact