SCHOOLS face making "catastrophic" cuts while remaining in the dark about how much money they actually have, it has been warned.
The new financial year is just weeks away but schools and education bodies have no agreed budgets due the political impasse.
Department of Education officials said they shared the concerns of outgoing assembly members.
The Education Authority and Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment are among those with no budget for 2017/18.
It is not unusual for public bodies to have no agreed budget at this point, and many will move forward on the basis that they will have the same money as the year before. Some money will be released to continue to pay staff.
However, schools and bodies are facing a reduction if the budget is not agreed quickly following the assembly election.
The permanent secretary of the Department of Finance can allocate up to 75 per cent of budgets to departments at the end of March. A further 20 per cent can be allocated by the end of July, bringing it up to 95 per cent of this year's cash position.
A meeting of the education committee, prior to the assembly being dissolved, heard members' concerns.
Phillip Logan of the DUP told the meeting that "schools will suffer and, ultimately, our schoolchildren".
His party colleague Lord Morrow added: "The worst-case scenario would be one in which we had to put teachers on notice that there was a problem with the budget and we might not be able to keep them in place. That would be catastrophic - absolutely catastrophic."
Gary Fair, the director of finance at the Department of Education, said it was "a far from an ideal set of circumstances".
"We will work closely with the Department of Finance, keeping in mind the uncertainty that that will present to schools and other bodies. Not knowing where we will be in March, we will all work very closely over the next period. We will certainly do our best," he said.
"Everybody's intention is that schools and other bodies will be aware of their budget, which will be only up to 75 per cent if we are in limbo at that stage, before the start of the new financial year. It is difficult to say at this stage because a lot of things have to be worked through. To some extent, it is, of course, in the realm of politics."
Mr Fair added that the department's concerns were similar to those "as expressed by Lord Morrow".
"We do not want schools to have to make unnecessary cuts to their staffing or whatever," he added.
"Allocating some money up front will at least ensure that there is some normality in the early part of the year. I totally acknowledge that, if there is a delay in a Budget Act being passed, the position for schools will be very uncertain, but we will do our best to work at an official level to mitigate the impact on them."
