SCHOOL Governors should review headteachers' and management staff salaries, especially if school numbers are falling.

The salary paid to headteachers is based on the number of pupils who go to that school.

This is known as the Individual School Range (ISR) .

In recent years, school rolls have been falling, but this has not necessarily been reflected by wage reductions.

Director of Education Ian Budd said: "There's been a big demographic change especially in secondary schools which has reduced the ISR.

"Not all schools have undertaken a leadership review or structural staffing decision which are commensurate with the ISR ranges.

"I acknowledge it's not easy to deal with setting the appropriate salary ranges for colleagues you're working very closely with."

FRG chairman and school governor, Graham Taylor, responded: "The salary would be protected if governing bodies decided to reduce the pay of a leadership team.

"They would still have to fund them at that level for a certain length of time."

"They would have to find savings in other parts of the budget."

The consequences of reducing the salary of deputies and headteachers would be to make it more difficult to entice quality headteachers in to Powys.

"One has to be aware of the consequences of these decisions."

Education portfolio holder, Cllr Myfanwy Alexander, said: "I agree in general. We're saying because of the rurality it's a problem attracting people.

"We need to pay them more than someone who is working in a tough school with 40 per-cent FSM (free school meals) and a massive crime problem?

"Maybe it's true yeh?

"I think it's all about creating the management structure that responds to those numbers. We have a pretty good view of the costs of the teaching teams. And the most expensive is not necessarily the best.

"You have schools with very expensive staffs and comparatively poor results.

"And schools that have much less costly management and teaching teams produce very good results. It's not a straight follow through."

The formula, along with the scrutiny committee's advice, will now go to cabinet for a decision on Tuesday, January 15.

It is expected to come into force from April (2019).

In June, 2018, the Cabinet was forced to agree deficit budgets for schools in the red.