School days could be shortened across the north as Highland Council seeks to save millions from its budget.
The controversial prospect was ruled out by former budget leader Councillor Dave Fallows last year following opposition from parents.
But it has resurfaced in a public consultation document currently being discussed at meetings across the north as the local authority gathers views on how to shave £78.2million from its spending plans between now and 2019.
The move has angered parents and teaching unions, who warned it would hit hard-working families who already struggle with childcare issues.
However, Mr Fallows’ successor as budget leader, Councillor Maxine Smith, has warned education services can no longer be treated as “a sacred cow” when it comes to finding savings.
So far, Highland Council has found almost £16million in cuts, leaving a gap of £62.7million – a third of which must go from next year’s spending.
Shortening the school day to save money on teaching posts is one of the options in the consultation document being put before members of the public.
Jason Hasson, who has three children at Tarradale Primary School and is a member of its parent council, said he was unaware that the issue was back on the agenda.
He said: “I know that money needs to be saved, but I don’t want it to be saved to the detriment of the children.
“Shortening the day would obviously impact on people’s lifestyles, particularly for parents who work or have childcare issues.”
Lynn Main, whose 10-year-old daughter attends Millbank Primary School in Nairn and whose 13-year-old son is at Nairn Academy, said she did not think the proposal should be approved.
She said: “As a parent myself I would like to keep the school day the way it is. I don’t think you should change something that isn’t broken. If it is just to save money the council should be looking in a different area.”
Chairman of Auldearn Primary School parent council, Mark Gunn, called for more clarity on the proposal.
He said: “Consultations without specifics are disingenuous. I fully understand that it is difficult for a council or government to provide every single option or variety but they do need to set out very specifically what it is they propose.”
Councillor Smith, who is also chairwoman of the resources committee, said: “In previous years, when we have looked at what we can make efficiencies on in the budget, we have tried to keep education out of it.
“This was primarily because a lot of the education issues are statutory and we cannot change them, such as class sizes, teachers’ pay and holiday entitlement.
“However, there are some things in the education budget that we can change and, given the amount of savings we have got to find, we can no longer treat the education service as a sacred cow.”
She said shortening the school day would save money on teachers’ salaries, and the consultation was intended to get people thinking seriously about where cuts could be made.
She said: “By explaining the situation to people, it may be that they will look at things differently.
“We really are trying to get the public’s views on everything and that includes education.”
Mr Fallows said he did not wish to comment on the apparent U-turn.
But opposition leader Councillor Carolyn Wilson said she was horrified to discover the proposal was back on the table.
She said: “I think we were quite clear when this was discussed last time that the Independent group was opposed to shortening the school day, as were a lot of parents.
“Obviously the administration has decided to reconsider this, along with a lot of other things that probably have been discounted in the past.”