THE city's education leader has ruled out a U-turn on a £64,000 budget cut that left a secondary school without "essential" teaching materials.
The 1.5 per cent cut means that staff at James Gillespie's have reduced spending on computer equipment, books, activities and additional teaching materials.
While all schools have been told to make cutbacks of 1.5 per cent, the school's parent cou
ncil believes James Gillespie's is one of the hardest hit because repairs to the crumbling building also have to come out of the same budget.
But in a letter sent to parent council chairman Nigel Goddard, education leader Councillor Marilyne MacLaren said: "There continues to be an expectation of an annual two per cent efficiency saving target for all services for the period from 2008 to 2011. While a target saving of 1.5 per cent was applied to school budget, other frontline services were subject to a higher savings target.
"In these circumstances, it is my view that it would be inappropriate to exclude one individual school from a savings target implemented in every other departmental service."
Labour group leader Andrew Burns said: "It was entirely within the power of the local authority this financial year, as in seven of the last eight years, to make a political decision not to levy any cuts on school-based budgets."
The full article contains 232 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
