The Labour group on Dundee City Council has said it would raise council tax by 4.7% in order to avoid cutting schools’ budgets next year.
Councillors will meet to agree the authority’s revenue budget for 2019/20 tomorrow.
The SNP administration has proposed nearly £10 million of cuts in order to balance the books, including reducing the devolved schools management budget by 3%
This would mean a reduction in teacher numbers in primary schools and might also impact on “curriculum offer and delivery”.
Officers are also proposing a rise in charges for a range of council services.
Labour group leader Kevin Keenan said his party will table an amendment calling on the administration to halt cuts to education.
It also wants to freeze charges in schools and restore funding to voluntary organisations which are due to have their council funding cut.
The party also proposes creating a “Caring Dundee Fund” to support social care.
Mr Keenan said the measures could be paid for by raising council tax by the full 4.7% rather than the 3% proposed by the SNP administration.
Labour say it would maintain council reserves at the current level of £5 million, rather than increase them by £2 million as the administration intends.
Mr Keenan said: “This is a truly dreadful SNP budget from a party that has let Dundee down yet again. Labour wants to protect our future and to save jobs today.
“Protecting and enhancing education for all our children is the best chance of a better future for our city.
“To cut another 26 teachers from our primary schools is a terrible decision. To remove the support in secondary schools that keeps kids on the brink inside our classrooms is a dereliction of duty.
“To do all of this would be to declare in public that any attempt to close the gap between the poorest and the richest kids has been abandoned.”
Mr Keenan added: “Our choice is to invest for the future where we can and to protect jobs wherever possible.
“In order to do so we would stop the increase in council reserves. There is no point salting away cash for a rainy day. This is the rainy day.
“The increase in council tax brings a little more money to the budget. We know that will be difficult. Hard working people are struggling too. But our schools desperately need the resources.”
Mr Keenan also criticised the council for voting through changes to its workforce management policy on Monday.
He accused the administration of using the threat of compulsory redundancies to “strike fear into staff”.
The SNP has said the change of policy does not affect workers’ terms and conditions although several opposition councillors said the local authority was going back on its policy of making no compulsory redundancies.
Council leader John Alexander said: “It was reiterated that redundancy would remain, as has been the case for several years, the option of last resort.”
Bob Macgregor, Unite regional industrial officer, said it was “ludicrous” to claim terms and conditions had not changed.
He said: “Yesterday employees could flexibly retire at their own pace and today they must do it within two years. Shamefully, employees will now face the threat of compulsory redundancy.”
