Teachers could be asked to pay to park at their schools as part of radical plans being put forward in Angus.
Depute provost Colin Brown has suggested a £1 a day charge for schools and the council’s headquarters as part of the authority’s consultation on parking,
The Forfar Independent councillor says the proposal could bring in £320,000 a year in his town alone.
By expanding the system throughout Angus, he claims the administration would more than meet its commitment of securing an income of £700,000 a year from parking.
However, the proposal has been criticised by teaching unions, who say it would make it even harder to recruit teachers.
Car parking charges are due to return to Angus as a whole later this year after a gap of more than two decades and councillors are being asked to finalise details of how the system might work.
Thousands of people have put their name to an online petition calling for a period of free on-street parking amid fears the move will decimate town-centre trade.
Mr Brown said he would scrap on-street charges and replace the proposed £4-a-day charge for council car parks with a £1 a day levy — and extend it to council premises.
He said: “If you take the public car parks in Forfar alone, the Greens, Myre and West Port, a charge of £1 a day would bring in £150,000 per annum.”
He said a £1 a day rate would bring in £68,250 a year at Angus House, £50,400 a year at the Forfar Community Campus and £36,000 a year at the three Forfar primary schools – Langlands, Whitehills and Strathmore.
Mr Brown added: “I am aware this is quite controversial and the proposal for parking charges at primary schools will be a hot potato, but I see no reason why these people should park free when those working in the shops in town have to pay, perhaps £4-a-day, which would work out at £100 a month.
“My plans for Forfar would bring in over £300,000, so if this was replicated throughout Angus it wouldn’t be difficult to bring in the £700,000.”
A spokesman for teaching union EIS Scotland warned the move could prove counter-productive — and might even hinder recruitment.
“Teachers arrive at school early and often leave late, frequently have to carry heavy books for preparation and correction, plus public transport is often not a realistic option for travel to many schools,” he said.
“Teachers’ pay has been cut, in real terms, by more than 20% over the past decade so any area introducing a parking charge might find it more difficult to attract staff to its schools.
“Schools in many areas are already struggling to fill teaching posts, so anything that might make working in a particular school less attractive could exacerbate the current challenges in teacher recruitment and retention.”
