The Scottish Government’s council tax reforms were under fresh fire last night amid new anger over the teaching crisis in the north-east.
More than 170 classroom posts in the region were vacant just before the start of the school year.
And the SNP has faced an onslaught from opposition MSPs since it emerged £47million paid in council tax in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire will be used to fund education in other parts of the country.
Official figures show there were 86 vacancies in the city in the days before August 18, while Aberdeenshire was advertising 43 posts and Moray 44.
The high number of vacancies could mean thousands of children started the school year without a permanent teacher in place.
One the eve of a visit to Inverurie today, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said the Scottish Government was “letting down” local children.
Aberdeen City Council’s finance convener Willie Young added that he would tell Education Secretary John Swinney “in no uncertain terms” the situation was “simply unacceptable”.
Mr Rennie said: “The north-east has historically been short-changed by the Scottish Government, with local authority grants falling beneath the SNP’s own funding floor year-on-year.
“These shortages are the legacy of years of underinvestment and we know that there are further SNP cuts to come.”
MSP Mike Rumbles, who is joining Mr Rennie on the Inverurie and District local authority by-election campaign trail today, added: “This smash and grab by the Scottish Government is nothing new, they have been siphoning funding from Aberdeenshire and the city for years.
“We now have two of the most poorly financed local authorities in the whole of Scotland.
“That means less money for schools, roads and local services at a time when our north-east economy is at its most vulnerable.”
Labour councillor Mr Young said he would raise the matter with Education Secretary Mr Swinney.
He added: “I will be telling Mr Swinney in no uncertain terms that for the Scottish Government to take local council tax money from Aberdeen and redistribute it around Scotland is simply unacceptable to us – especially when Aberdeen and the north-east has a shortage of teachers.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman insisted no council would be worse off because of the proposed changes, which would take affect from next year.
She said: “We want all schools to have access to the right number of teachers with the right skills so every child in every community has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.”
The spokeswoman added that the government was spending £88million “to make sure every school has access to the right number of teachers”.
