Commenting ahead of the budget vote, Nicola Fitzpatrick, Interim Wales Secretary for the National Education Union (NEU) Cymru, said:
"It seems clear that the Welsh Government will pass their budget today. But what is of fundamental importance to our members now, is we need to focus on ensuring money gets to our schools and colleges. The education workforce in Wales need to be empowered to focus on children and young people, not on balancing the budgets.
"With so many costly reforms, including the new GCSEs coming in September, and increasing support needed for children with additional learning needs, Welsh Government must ensure that money from the budget gets to every classroom. This is about the futures of every child and young person in Wales."
Further commenting on Flintshire Council’s proposed £2.9m cut to school budgets, Nicola Fitzpatrick, Wales Secretary for the National Education Union (NEU) Cymru, added:
“These changes will have a profound impact on the quality of education in Flintshire. Flintshire already receives one of the lowest per pupil funding settlements in Wales, and further reductions to school budgets are going to impact on every single school in the local authority with teaching and support staff jobs being put under threat of loss or reduction in hours as a result.
“Local authorities across Wales have major problems with teacher recruitment and retention and this decision by the council will only exasperate this.
“We accept of course that the council are facing a very difficult financial settlement. There is no arguing that savings must be made. However, the council makes its own priorities about which services to cut, and this is a misguided approach that will seriously undermine the life chances of children across the county.”