Savage cuts to school budgets in Monmouthshire are damaging pupils’ education, according to a local councillor.

Recent budget figures show county schools have been slashed by almost £3m over the last three years, with further cuts planned.

Labour leader at MCC, Councillor Dimitri Batrouni, pointed out rising inflation meant school budgets spread thinner each year, amounting to a cut.

Dr. Batrouni said the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats running the council have refused to increase school budgets for three years running, effectively cutting services with more planned for this year.

“After plunging the Council into special measures for education, the Conservatives are again planning to cut funding for Monmouthshire’s schools. Even worse, they are trying to tell people that they are protecting the school’s budget. They are not, and they know it.

“We know that there has been an effect on spending per pupil in Monmouthshire and it is set to get worse. Monmouthshire’s Labour councillors oppose these cuts and would give our children a better deal,” he said.

The council hit back, highlighting the difficult climate which has seen overall budgets lowered each year, forcing administrations to do more with less.

Councillor Liz Hacket Pain, cabinet member for schools and learning said, “We have prioritised education and this is reflected in our expenditure which has remained fixed even though we have received less to spend year by year from Welsh Government.

“Furthermore, the council, in partnership with the government, has invested more than £80m in its 21st Century Schools programme to bring a state of the art primary school for Raglan as well as the construction of two impressive secondary schools in Caldicot and Monmouth.”