Parents have claimed that council chiefs are not spending enough on books and other equipment at a new secondary school that is due to open in Caithness this year.
Iain Baikie, who heads up Wick High School’s parent body, said that the £95,000 for classroom equipment and £20,000 for books was “inadequate” given an overall budget for the campus project of £48.5million.
The development includes a new primary school to serve south of the River Wick, merging South Primary School with Pulteneytown Primary, as well as a replacement for Wick High School and new community facilities.
Highland Council said that it had reported that £2.9million would be spent on equipment, furniture and fittings inside the new secondary school.
But Mr Baikie believes that there is not enough equipment, especially for the biology, chemistry and physics classrooms, as well as for history, geography and maths.
He added: “In my opinion educational resources for the school are incomplete and inadequate and need providing for. There is £95,000 for equipment and £20,000 for books in a school with 650 pupils. The spend for the school is £48.5million and compare that to putting £95,000 into educational resources.
“More news this year for the school was that pupil support assistants for children with one-to-one needs is going to be cut by 23%. As the head of the parent council, the school’s inadequate and incomplete resources and staffing is completely unsatisfactory.
“I am going to write to the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, as she made a promise that they would deliver a state of the art school.”
Despite some minor construction issues, including problems with a steel beam, the school is on schedule to open its doors to pupils after the October holidays this year.
A Highland Council spokeswoman said: “The council has recently briefed Wick Campus stakeholders setting out the significant planned spend of £2.9million on equipment, furniture and fittings in the new Wick Campus.”