Cuts to teacher numbers in West Lothian in a bid to balance the budget are still being proposed, despite the Scottish Government education minister suggesting they would be off the table.
Council officers in West Lothian had been forced to consider reductions in the school day as well as teacher numbers.
Cuts to staff in the county’s schools amounted to around 180 FTE posts. Dr Elaine Cook, the depute chief executive for education, stressed that this was a calculation based on average salaries rather than actual jobs.
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There were also reductions in the school day/ teaching time across primary and secondary levels and other measures including the development of “virtual “ learning with a greater reliance on online learning for subjects such as Advanced Higher in the senior school.
The chair of the Education Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel (PDSP) described the situation as “tragic and heartbreaking.”
However, education minister Shirley- Anne Somerville said last week: “We have very clear commitments to improve Scottish education.
“Ministers are firm in their views that Scottish education would not be improved by having fewer teachers or less time in school.”
Local EIS Secretary and a national office bearer, Heather Hughes asked a special meeting of PDSP why proposals were being presented to the committee given the changes coming from the Scottish Government.
Mrs Hughes said: “How can this council still be proposing the cuts we see before us which will result in the very large reduction in the number of teachers after the Cabinet Secretary made it quite clear she will step in in if any council tries to cut the number of teachers or cut the number of pupils that are in class.
“Can you also tell me how this would tie in with the council’s number one priority of raising attainment and giving young people positive destinations
“I’m asking you: Is there a budget B?”
Chairing the PDSP Councillor Andrew McGuire replied: “It’s my understanding that no official communication has been made so press reports you highlight are simply that, press reports. The council budget papers were published before that announcement was made by Scottish Government ministers last week. I know officers will be waiting with great interest on what communications will be made by government officials."
Referring to the budget proposals he said the council was facing financial challenges and added: “All options have to be considered.”
More than 160 pages of proposals were put before members of the PDSP bringing detailed questions covering delivery of the service from Early Years Provision up to sixth year.
Officers faced lengthy questioning from Mrs Hughes on classroom hours being cut in both primary and secondary schools detailing the potential loss of 665 hours of teacher time from trained teachers in primary schools and the 31 hours of lost teaching time at secondary level.
She also asked questions on other proposed changes which include shared headships among primary schools.
All are officer proposals. Of the 22,000 responses to a public consultation, 8,222 or 35.96% of those made concerned education cuts.
Mrs Hughes told the meeting: “I absolutely understand the difficulty that the elected members of West Lothian, the impossible situation that you have been put into re budgets.”
She added: "All I would say is a plea for the people who are not here today who are not represented, the young people of West Lothian. Don’t make them be party to a second class education system by reducing the number of contract hours they have with a GTCS teacher. Don’t make that if they live in Edinburgh they get 665 more hours of registered teaching time than in West Lothian None of this is their making and I know none of it is yours. You need to fight for them.”
Independent Councillor Stuart Borrowman said: "All of my working life in local government has been boom or bust, mainly bust in local government finances but I have to say, for the most part, it was manageable. This is on a different scale.
"It would be useful as part of what we are trying to do here if the Scottish Government would clarify if we had a Shirley -Anne Somerville soundbite or a measured proposal last week. Some of the things that have come forward are somewhere between eye-watering and totally unacceptable.”
He praised proposals of joint headships saying that there had been gains at primaries in his ward where this has happened, but he was critical of a policy which kept teachers on temporary fixed term contracts, saying it was bad, personally and professionally, for staff.
Moira McKee- Shemilt for the SNP said: “The best way out of poverty is through education and West Lothian, under the auspices of Elaine Cook, has done really well helping children and young people who are vulnerable. I would think it more than likely that the most vulnerable children will be most affected these proposals.
“In my life I always thought that things would move forward but these proposals feel as if we are going backwards.”
Closing the one and half hour meeting Councillor McGuire said: “I’m a recent product of the West Lothian education system and I firmly believe that West Lothian education is the best in the world as a direct result of the investment that education officers and staff give to each pupil to help them reach their full potential.
"I firmly believe that had that not been the case I wouldn’t be sitting here today. It’s tragic and heartbreaking the situation we are in.”
He added: “I would dearly like as chair of education to be in the position where education was protected. We really need to have a national debate about how local government is funded and a recognition that local government is an important tier of government in itself. Until we have a grown up debate about it we are going to be year on year in his position.”
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