Half of all Denbighshire primary schools have financial problems

The county's headteachers federation claimed on Monday that half of the 54 primary schools faced financial deficits of up to �100,000.

They warned budget cuts would force job losses in some schools within a year.

But the council - which accused the assembly government of not supporting schools - said it was not aware of any planned widespread cuts.

In a statement they said: "Warnings from the headteachers federation that many jobs will be lost because of the level of school budgets are surprising and may be premature."

'Great pressures'

The council said schools had been asked to make 1% efficiency cuts in line with its assembly government settlement.

But overall, the schools budget had risen above the rate of inflation, by 3.7% for the coming year.

Councillor Dewi Owens, cabinet lead member for lifelong learning, said they had not been notified of any widespread redundancies, but would try to minimise any job losses if they become necessary.

He added: "Denbighshire, in common with many other councils in Wales, is concerned about the overall funding for schools and lack of sufficient Assembly support.

"There are undoubtedly great pressures on schools, not least because of the impact of the workload agreement for which the assembly has failed to cover the costs.

"We will continue to do all we can to guide and advise the schools and we will be carefully monitoring the situation over the coming weeks."

Headteachers met council officials on Monday evening to discuss the budget problem.

The Denbighshire headteachers federation asked every school in the county to look at their budget for next year and predict what their deficit would be by 31 March 2007.

The expected deficits ranged from at least �10,000 to up to �100,000.

Denbighshire Council launched a consultation on restructuring the county's education system last July.

Earlier in the year, proposals to shut or merge 14 rural schools were postponed in the face of strong opposition from parents.