Nearly 20 schools don’t have permanent headteachers in Carmarthenshire and “really difficult strategic decisions” about education are likely, a council director has said.

Owain Lloyd, director of education and children’s services, told a council committee that all Carmarthenshire’s 100-plus primary and secondary schools were being reviewed. “It is a vital piece of work,” he said. He acknowledged that any talk of school closures was very emotive.

He added: “There are just under 20 schools where there are no permanent heads (headteachers) in place.”

Carmarthenshire, a largely rural county, has a lot of small schools. Many are overspending and in deficit. Cllr Alun Lenny, cabinet member for resources, said: “It’s a completely unsustainable position.”

One budget proposal is that some primaries with “surplus accommodation” may be reduced in size or closed, although savings from this potential course of action would only kick in from 2026-27.

The council is no longer proposing to ask schools to make £3.5 million savings next year but said this shortfall would need to be met through council tax, with each 1% rise tax equating to around £1 million. The planned council tax rise for 2025-26 is 9.75% although no final decisions have been made.

Aneirin Thomas, head of education and inclusion services, said it was key to think about the county’s school footprint. “The greater the number of slices of the cake, the smaller the budget is for each individual school,” he said.

Mr Lloyd said some additional Welsh Government education funding, on top of that set out in its provisional budget, was earmarked for councils. This would help, he said, for the coming year. But he added: “I think there are some really difficult strategic decisions long term that as officers we will need to bring forward.”

Members of the education, young people and Welsh language scrutiny committee heard that reasons for schools being in deficit included pupil numbers, reliance on agency staff and historic factors.

A council officer has visited around 25 primaries to agree a plan with them to reduce their deficit, although some were said to have “no headroom”.

A review of school catchments is also being carried out, and Mr Lloyd said discussions with neighbouring councils about school provision were going to be increasingly important. “Conversations have started with Ceredigion,” he said.

The committee was told that an extra £500,000 would be invested in the council’s educational and child psychology service next year, plus an extra £913,000 for extra pupil referral unit and additional learning needs classes.

Mr Lloyd said Carmarthenshire only had the equivalent of 5.2 full-time equivalent staff in the educational and child psychology service at present. Demand for the service, he said, was increasing. “The team is doing extremely well but it’s challenging,” he said.

Mr Lloyd added that the council was working with schools to maximise other external sources of income. Llanelli’s Ysgol Bryngwyn, he said, secured around £100,000 of investment from a foundation. “There is a plethora of grants out there,” he said.

Officers and councillors acknowledged the pressures school and council staff were under. Artificial intelligence might be looked at to help reduce teacher workloads.

Cllr Kim Broom said central government needed to be challenged about funding levels, but she said school deficits in Carmarthenshire were a fundamental, major issue. “The pace of change needs to be picked up,” she said.