The Scottish government is considering ordering councils to stop cutting teacher numbers after local government body Cosla expressed concerns over funding.
Cosla warned of a significant funding gap that would impact vital local services and lead to job cuts.
Now Scotland's education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville is understood to be planning to step in and is also expected to prevent the number of school hours being reduced.
Council tax increases are widely expected when councils set their budgets in the coming weeks.
Several local authorities including SNP-led Glasgow city council are considering education cuts to balance their budgets.
The Holyrood government has provided some extra cash but inflation and recent pay deals have put finances under pressure.
Conservative leader Douglas Ross said last week he was ‘deeply worried’ about the threat of teacher cuts in Glasgow and elsewhere.
First minister Nicola Sturgeon failed to offer a specific number when asked how many teachers would lose their jobs across Scotland.
She said she respected the ‘autonomy of democratically elected institutions’.
