Schools built almost a century after other working educational buildings will have to be prioritised for repair, the council has said.
Braeview Academy and Craigie High School have both been given a rating of C – poor – for their overall condition for another consecutive year by council officers.
A number of buildings in the council school estate were originally erected in the Victorian and Edwardian periods, some of them more than 100 years old.
The buildings – which include Blackness and Ancrum Road primaries – are “well liked” by teachers and parents, despite having some practical issues like limited space and smaller playground areas.
By comparison, both Craigie and Braeview were constructed in the 1970s and by the council’s own assessment are in a worse state of repair.
Braeview was ravaged by fire earlier this year, with pupils still split between two other schools in the city while repairs are carried out.
On Monday night councillors voted to approve the latest report on the school estate, which included plans to invest money from the capital budget to further develop playgrounds, dining facilities and green space for physical education in the council’s century-old school houses.
An amendment proposed by Lochee Labour councillor Michael Marra was voted down by the children and families services committee.
Mr Marra had sought to bring forward a scheme of extension and major refurbishment of the older schools.
He said he was “concerned” about the “piecemeal” approach the council was enacting towards refurbishing some of the city’s oldest schools and added the council should be looking to make “large scale improvements”.
Executive director of children and families services, Paul Clancy, said the council had already spent money recently making improvements to the Victorian and Edwardian buildings.
He added money from the capital plan which had been earmarked for the older schools was not being spent on “maintaining” the buildings, but enhancing the facilities already on offer.
He further noted the older estates were not lacking in modern equipment and had the same technological advancements as their modern counterparts.
He said: “I would already say we have a strategy in place as well as a planned programme of works scheduled.
“If we were to have a plan of major refurbishments one of the major issues we would face is having to decant the children into other school buildings.
“We would also have to find funds in the capital budget which are not there.
“These buildings are in good condition, staff like them and there is a strategy in place that already works.
“Schools identified as category C are in more urgent need of repair.”
Committee convener Councillor Stewart Hunter added: “We are spending £5 million on these schools and the money will be put where it is needed.
“Pressures going forward are our two category C schools, one of which was half burnt down.”
Mr Hunter added pupils would be returning to Braeview this month.
