ABERDEENSHIRE EDUCATION CUTS START TO BITE
The reality of the cuts being forced on Scottish councils by SNP ministers was all too apparent at Aberdeenshire Council last Thursday (24 March).
Several papers at the Education, Learning and Leisure Committee dealt with proposed policy changes intended to give effect to budget cuts voted through the Council in November and February.
On the agenda were cuts to secondary teacher numbers, the number of depute heads in some academies and the provision of fruit for primary pupils, and the extension of charging for musical instrument tuition.
The Democratic Independent group of councillors, of which I am a member, opposed these cuts at the full council meeting in November 2010 when the Council voted for budget reductions totalling almost