State school debt in England and Wales has increased sharply in the past three years, as budgets tighten and cost pressures hit schools, a report says.
The Times Educational Supplement asked councils how much maintained schools had asked to borrow since 2013-14. Borrowing in the 137 of 174 local authorities that responded rose £20m to £56.7m, the TES said, over three years.
The government says school budgets have been protected, but heads say they continue to face rising cost pressures.
The Department for Education added it was up to head teachers to prevent their schools from going into debt.
"We have always been clear that local authorities need to work with schools to prevent any deficits and surpluses becoming significant," it said.
The figures obtained under Freedom of Information laws looked at the financial years 2013-14, 2014-15, and up to the end of November 2015. They do not cover academies which are not maintained by local authorities.
