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U-turn on axing specialist teachers?          5/2/13     

Western Isles Council is considering executing an u-turn over some controversial budget cuts after it "found" an additional £624,000 which could be diverted to ease the pain of tackling a £6 million deficit.

The extra money includes revising Council tax income as well as savings from planned energy generation and energy efficiency projects as well as introducing additional council tax charges on empty homes.

A raft of proposed education cuts has angered islanders and last night (Tues) councillors agreed to debate them again at a policy and resources committee meeting next week.

This gives officials a few days to urgently devise possible alternative options to axing itinerant teachers for gym, music and art in primary schools.

The original move was mooted to save £460,000 over two years.

The alternative is of some class teachers ending up tutoring pupils in no more than "beating a tambourine" for music said education committee religious representative Dr Neil Galbraith.

Council leader Angus Campbell stressed allocating the new additional income should be done "from an educational point of view and not just to keep people happy."

Cllr Charlie Nicolson said: "You can't take 16,000 hours (of specialist provision) away and say there is not going to be a difference.

Cllr Rae Mackenzie highlighted: "You have got to listen to the public otherwise consultation is a sham."

Education chairperson Catriona Stewart insisted: "We are listening and taking cognisance of views expressed to us."

Chief executive Malcolm Barr stressed specialist teachers "did add value" to their subjects but that class teachers were qualified to take the same topics.

Councillors also agreed to further discussion on making Lionel school in Ness a satellite campus of the Nicolson Institute some 20 miles away.

Cllr Donald Crichton warned the move to have one shared headship between Back, North Tolsta and Tong schools will be strongly opposed by parents.

The school week may end on Friday lunchtime by shortening break times to save £120,000 by using the spare time for ongoing teacher training. However, co-ordinating schools buses is an issue to be sorted out.

A radical to install E-learning has now been renamed “Curriculum Re-design” by council chiefs to better “clarify” the plan to introducing virtual classrooms and getting a teacher in one island to tutor classes elsewhere via tele-links.

It could save £1 million but education official Bernard Chisholm stressed: "Don't for one minute think this will be easy."

The £624,000 “extra” money apparently conjured up at the last minute is not readily available cash but includes income or savings the council hopes to make by switching off the lights and installing wind turbines or solar panels at council properties.

The authority is presently tendering for a firm to help it introduce money-saving renewable energy measures for council buildings.

The figure is also includes £124,000 the council would get if it votes to introduce additional Council tax charges on empty homes.

Councillors have yet to approve the additional money raising measures.