Instead of an across-the-board cut of two per cent, schools will have to find savings according to pupil numbers.

It means some will have a budget cut of more than previously thought, while others will have to find much less.

The council agreed to cut head teachers' budgets by two per cent at its February budget meeting.

And officials say a sliding scale of savings was always an option – but that budget small print was not revealed to at least some heads of Borders schools.

A statement from SBC this week says: "A two per cent saving was not required (or indeed achievable) from each individual school."

"Instead, a sliding scale will operate where schools with over 1,000 pupils still face the two per cent cut, down to 0.08 per cent for the region's smallest schools."

February's budget meeting also agreed a fund of £200,000 "to be used to help schools struggling to make savings" – although it remains unclear which schools will be eligible.

Executive member for education Catriona Bhatia said how that money would be dispersed to the smaller schools had not been then finalised.

A council spokesperson said the two per cent was a cut over the whole of the DSM budget (money given to head teachers to manage).

The spokesperson added: "But it was always acknowledged that some of the smaller schools would not be able to meet a two per cent target.

"The sliding scale was always going to be used, with some of the smaller schools having a much smaller saving to meet and the larger schools having to find more than two per cent."

She continued: "Schools were aware that this was the case and that our finance officers would be helping head teachers identify savings."

But Janice Chapman, head teacher of the 300-pupil Burnfoot community school in Hawick, was told she had to cut her budget by the full two per cent.

That meant finding savings of £20,000 – and in the school's newsletter last month she said: "The only place this amount of budget can be cut is from staffing."

It was only when she returned to school on Tuesday that she found out the cuts she had to make had been halved to £10,000.

Mrs Chapman said: "Morale was quite low before, but I think once I tell everyone it's not quite as bad as was anticipated, it will be better.

"It's still a cut but it's considerably less than was originally expected, though it's a large amount of money from the school. I think parents, with any cut, will be concerned about it. Any cut will have an impact of some kind. It depends where we cut it from. We are going to look at reducing the impact on children as much as possible. It is a cut, but I am much more optimistic."

The school has 12 class teachers and a staff of more than 60 overall.

Mrs Chapman added: "At this point I don't think it will be affecting staffing. I haven't as yet finalised where the money will be cut from.

"I really can't say where the cuts will be made.