Labour councillors fear vulnerable children will feel the direct impact of future Dundee City Council budget cuts.
City finance chief Willie Sawers has indicated strongly that the council will have to make more savings and that cuts could top last year’s figure of £7 million.
Although Mr Sawers promised to protect frontline services, senior Labour figures are growing increasingly concerned that services like education will inevitably be affected.
In particular, opposition councillors fear that off-site education centres for children with additional needs, like the Castlepark Centre, may face the brunt of cuts.
Labour leader Kevin Keenan is one of the councillors who insist more schools will face a similar fate to Menzieshill High, which is to close next year.
Mr Keenan said: “I note that the SNP administration is delivering bad news in instalments, with the finance spokesperson sending an early message to Dundee citizens to brace themselves for budget cuts.
“The convener has now given an early warning of further cuts to off-site provision. This will be another announcement, like the closure of Menzieshill High School, which will have an affect on every school in the city.
“If there is a cut in off-site provision this will mean that pupils who need this support will remain in mainstream schools longer, leading to classes being disrupted as their additional needs monopolise the classroom teacher’s time.
“Our pupils and their teachers deserve better. We are looking at short-term cuts with long-term damage.”
Mr Keenan’s views were echoed by Laurie Bidwell, Labour spokesman for education, who feels details published in the council’s Annual School Estate Review do not bode well for the city.
He argued: “Despite informing staff and the press that the council were in the process of cutting and relocating the three off-site education centres in Dundee, there is only one sentence in the committee paper about this.
“This is clearly a wholly inadequate basis for the education committee considering the case for undertaking a formal consultation.”
Mr Sawers responded: “The Labour Party seem intent on denying the responsibility of the Westminster Government’s austerity programme in cutting millions of pounds from Scotland’s budget.
“The SNP administration on Dundee City Council will continue to prioritise the delivery of frontline services and we will continue the council tax freeze.”