The council is looking to plug a £77million gap and it’s feared as many as 2000 jobs will be axed.

But at the last gasp yesterday (Wednesday) council leader David Ross said there would be no reduction in the school week – one of the most controversial proposals – and they “will not be accepting future cuts in the education budget”.

Councillors are set to decide on proposals such as closing Rosyth resource centre and slashing the money spent on road maintenance.

Fife Council had proposed reducing the cleaning hours in schools and closing kitchens in primary schools that serve fewer than 75 meals each day.

Other measures may include a new £20 charge for blue badges, parking charges at railway stations and park and ride facilities, increasing class sizes from 25 to 30.

Dunfermline could lose out as core grants to business improvement district companies are set to be reviewed.

The Labour administration has already said it does not propose to raise council tax, but plans to continue to press the Scottish Government to “properly fund” local government and local services.

Fife’s SNP councillors said they would oppose any cut in teacher numbers and their education spokesperson, Councillor Douglas Chapman, said, “Before any budget can be agreed, the SNP will be calling on Fife Council to end the political posturing and accept our fair share of the £51m which the Scottish Government has made available to help councils to maintain teacher numbers.

“I’m sure parents who have seen their local school closed as a cost-cutting measure will be astonished that the council seems so reluctant to accept more money from John Swinney to put more teachers in our classrooms.

"The most controversial of Labour’s proposed education cuts is the suggestion that we should send pupils home early on one day a week to save money on teaching posts.

“This has been roundly condemned by parents, teachers and pupils despite a very one-sided ‘consultation’ by the council.” He added, “The SNP are in possession of figures showing which schools would lose teachers if this cut went ahead and they are exactly the schools where we should be spending more, not less.

"Labour’s mantra appears to be slash teacher numbers and increase class sizes for those children in most need of support and a chance in life.

“Both of these cuts would seriously damage the education of our primary school children at the very time we’re recognising the value of dealing with disadvantage in the early years of a child’s development.

"The SNP will be opposing these cuts on Thursday.” A survey carried out by Fife Council has shown that education changes are the top concern, with a majority indicating they were willing to pay an additional amount in council tax, at a lower rate, if it went directly to funding services for older people.

The proposed budget has been slated by the Fife branch of the TUC, which has called for an anti-austerity demonstration outside Fife House today.