CALLS for AET to be replaced as the trust running Sandown Bay Academy have been renewed by a senior councillor as a row over massive budget cuts rolls on.

AET yesterday (Wednesday) denied allegations, levelled at it by education executive member Cllr Chris Whitehouse, it was slashing hundreds of thousands of pounds from Sandown's budget to use elsewhere.

AET — the biggest multi-academy trust in the country, running 67 schools nationally, including Ryde Academy — said the cuts were due to a 'very difficult funding environment' and 'national funding crisis.'

It said it had worked with the school to reduce the level of cuts from £850,000 to less than £250,000.

But, reacting to AET's response today (Thursday), Cllr Whitehouse said: "It is a matter of fact that on or around January 24, Sandown Bay Academy was told by AET it had to find £850,000 in cuts in the coming year so that the money could be retained by AET.

"Following representations over the last two months from many associated with the Academy, including from me, AET has now reduced its demand from £850,000 in the current year to £430,000 this year, but with the expectation of further cuts in the next year.

"Clearly as the first massive cut will be a recurring reduction, a potential £850,000 hit overall is potentially a huge underestimate of the impact of this savage reduction and diversion of funds to meet AETs other costs over the next two years."

He said sources involved with the school had told him of a 'catastrophic breakdown in confidence by teachers, governors and parents' in AET's running of the school.

He added: "By their latest inaccurate, disingenuous and misleading statement to Island media, claiming that a cut of only £230,000 is being sought, and trying once again to sweep this potential financial and educational disaster for one of our high schools under the carpet, they have demonstrated that they cannot be trusted and are unfit to be involved any longer in this school."

He called on the trust to apologise to parents, students, staff and governors and step down to allow a replacement to be appointed.

He also highlighted an AET review of Sandown Bay Academy (below), that described the school as 'coasting' with very weak academic performance.

Cllr Whitehouse said the review "constitutes a damning indictment of AET’s dreadful record in running Sandown. For as long as I have statutory responsibilities as Lead Member for children’s services, AET can be confident I will continue to highlight their failures on behalf of all those students whose welfare and education are now, in part, my legal responsibility.

"There will be no hiding place on this Island for underperformance; parents would expect no less from me, and I won’t let them down."

* An earlier version of this story included an embedded copy of the report. This has been removed following a request from the school and Cllr Whitehouse.