GOVERNING bodies in Ceredigion’s schools have been warned they will have to find almost £1.3m to pay for rising costs such as pay rises and increased pension costs.

With Ceredigion Council facing a savings target of around £8.5m, the authority has suggested that schools should bear the brunt of increased staff costs for pay rises and pensions to save the council having to find additional money.

Education Cabinet member Hag Harries said while he appreciated the strain that would put on schools and their governing bodies, it was unrealistic to expect the council to find that money from elsewhere in its stretched budget as that would put even greater pressure on council services.

He said: “Those costs have to be passed on down to the schools, as uncomfortable as it is. My message to the governors is that now is the time to do your best work and I’d like to thank them for their efforts.”

Cllr Rowland Rees-Evans, the chair of the council’s learning communities scrutiny committee, said there had been concerns raised during the committee meeting about the impact that having to find the additional staffing costs would have on school budgets, but said the committee had reluctantly accepted it was something that was necessary.

Council leader Ellen ap Gwynn said that while Cabinet members had not wanted to impose additional costs on schools, she said the council was facing a range of awkward decisions over the future of several services.

However, she added: “If more funding comes from somewhere we’ll do our best, but there are pinch points everywhere.”