A SCOTTISH council is threatening to slash teacher numbers in direct defiance of a flagship SNP policy.
Argyll and Bute said it could cut up to 36 teachers to save money despite a national agreement to protect classroom posts.
The move is significant because it could provide a blueprint for other councils to legally avoid ministerial demands on teacher numbers.
The council immediately came under fire from political opponents and teaching unions.
James Robb, SNP councillor for Central Helensburgh, said: "Because of its failure to keep to its agreement with the Scottish Government to maintain teacher numbers the council is now considering throwing the toys out of the pram.
"They are suggesting that not only will they not employ the teachers paid for by the Scottish Government’s additional funding, but will also cut teacher numbers to the bone by sacking additional classroom staff."
Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) said it would be "profoundly disappointing" if local authorities tried to circumvent the "letter and spirit" of agreements to maintain teacher numbers.
He added: "Every single council in Scotland signed its own agreement with the Scottish Government to maintain teacher numbers in return for additional funding.
"Indeed, the recent agreement on teachers' pay and conditions was only reached after the Scottish Government announced that the teacher numbers commitment would continue for the entire length of the deal.
"The ink on that agreement is barely dry yet already some local authorities have failed to maintain teacher numbers, thereby reneging on guarantees they provided to the Scottish Government."
The issue arose after the Scottish Government's 2015/16 Budget included an extra £10 million to maintain teacher numbers at existing levels.
Finance Minister John Swinney made the money available on a council by council basis, but warned any failure to deliver would result in a claw back of funding.
A number of rural councils have already complained the policy is unfair because they are being penalised for being unable to fill advertised vacancies because of a shortage of applicants.
A policy paper to Argyll and Bute's community services committee states that the council has missed its target by nine teachers and could be hit with government fines of nearly £900,000.
However, the paper goes on to point out that the council already employs more teachers than it needs to under the law because of lower pupil numbers. As a result, the council could legally cut up to 36 teaching posts - saving £1.57m.
The paper states: "The council entered into agreement with the Scottish Government to maintain teacher number at the 2014/15 levels as part of the 2015/16 financial settlement.
"Despite all efforts, the national teacher shortages, exacerbated by the number of additional posts in urban authorities, has meant that insufficient teachers could be recruited to meet that commitment.
"There is a risk of financial sanctions being applied to the council for all or part of the £0.895m additional grant.... this potential loss of additional grant may be mitigated by deleting supernumerary teacher posts with a resultant full year saving of £1.57m."
A council spokesman added: “Teacher numbers are in accordance with the government's national staffing formula. All of our schools are staffed to that level and no primary class is unstaffed as a result of the current, efficient staffing model.
“The council has gone to exceptional efforts to recruit these supernumerary posts in order to meet the government's commitment.
"Given the national shortage in teaching staff and the competition of attainment funding which was given to seven large urban authorities, we would hope that the government takes this into consideration.”
The issue has now been referred to the next meeting of the council's policy and resources committee.
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