A HIGH school has plunged £142,000 into the red - and triggered a political row.

The bursar at Stretford High School, Trafford, has resigned and a replacement has been appointed to begin in September.

Despite success - a recent Ofsted report shows the school provides good education - the £142,000 deficit is more than five per cent of the school's budget.

Tory councillors have accused the controlling Labour group on the borough council and Stretford High governors of mismanagement.

They want governors' chairman Coun Peter Mitchell, who is also borough education chief, to resign.

But town hall bosses say the deficit occurred because of a ''genuine error'' and that governors' plan to eliminate it over a period of three years without hitting pupils' education.

Coun Edith Eadie, the Conservative education spokeswoman on Trafford council, said: ''These are huge sums of public money and must be spent wisely. The regulations must contain proper safeguards.

''How can a school's accounts be so much adrift? They can't just blame an employee. The governing body has a responsibility to have systems in place to prevent this sort of thing.''

She said governors should have examined accounts each term.

But Coun Peter Mitchell, Labour education spokesman, said: ''I am disappointed that Coun Eadie has descended to such cheap political point scoring and does not seem to mind who may be damaged by it.

''She implies impropriety on my part, which I absolutely refute.''

In a statement, Stretford High deputy headteacher Karen Connerney said the school was going from strength to strength, with pupil numbers at their highest level and waiting lists for places in every year group.

''It clearly shows how the school is valued by parents and the local community,'' she said.

Director of Education Chris Pratt said: ''Deficits can occur from time to time in a wide range of schools. In this case the school and the LEA took immediate steps to tackle it.

''The deficit occurred because of a genuine error in accounting. The bursar resigned and was not dismissed. Trafford schools perform above the national average and the LEA has a good record of helping where there are concerns.''