EDUCATION is a vital local service, but it does not come cheap.

Along with the other 31 single-tier local authorities in Scotland, East Lothian Council must provide a raft of services with the £200m-plus it budgets for each year: like everyone else in this time of austerity, belts have been tightened.

But this year, no extra money is forthcoming from the Scottish Government to meet automatic pay rises and grade promotions, let alone demands from new residents and an increasingly elderly population.

One area protected until now is also the biggest: education.

Close to £119m is spent each year teaching our children up to age 18.

Some loopy ‘economies’ like fewer copiers have been suggested to protect ‘core’ education.

But the present East Lothian Council administration has bottled axing a number of expenses that are hardly core because removing them might prove unpopular.

They could save well over a million by stopping funding the following services: 1) Free school transport under three miles for secondary pupils. The estimated saving from this would be more than £400,000.

2) Free swimming pool access from P4 onwards. Estimated saving: more than £250,000.

3) Free musical tuition and instruments. Estimated saving: more than £600,000.

Clearly the burden would largely be passed to parents to pick up the tab.

But those least able to afford it could have the free school meals entitlement extended to the above.

Even allowing for one in five pupils receiving free school meals still would mean a £1m boost to education.

Even if all of a three per cent hike in council tax was poured into schools, it won’t bring in even half of what this will.

If all of these funds were left in education, it would still relieve other departments which have been starved to keep school spend tiding.

Plus, it would hit those with no children just as hard as those with.

But with elections due in May, will East Lothian Council have the guts to do this?