Special schools bosses fear they will lose vital teachers unless cash for new buildings is secured soon to transform the district's schools.

Three new special primary schools are to be built as part of phase two of the multi-million pound Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme which will see all of the district's schools rebuilt or refurbished.

Bradford Council's executive has now agreed to submit the outline and strategic business case for the huge project to the Department for Education and Skills.

This has to be approved by the Government's Treasury Review Group before companies are found to carry out the £117 million work for phase one - the rebuilding of Salt, Tong and Buttershaw schools.

Phase two is expected to be approved next month and new special schools should be ready by September 2007.

Initially the Council hoped these would be ready by 2006 but the Telegraph & Argus revealed in April this was set back because of a delay in funding.

But at the Education Policy Partnership meeting on Thursday Glynne Freeth, head teacher at Lister Lane Special School, in Lister Lane, Bradford and Donald Andrews, who represents special school governors on the group, both raised fears about how long the process was taking to secure the cash.

"It's critical for us in special schools that we get this funding but the cost of three new special schools, when we know the Council's budget is already stretched, is very worrying," said Mr Andrews.

"We do not want to end up with a penny-pinch solution."

BSF, which started in 2003, is aimed at secondary schools transformation but the Council agreed in February to build three new special primary schools with cash from education capital receipts as part of the whole scheme.

Mr Freeth said: "As this process seems to slip and slip I am concerned if we do not get a date when cash will be announced fairly soon we will lose teachers. We have a good range of highly-skilled teachers and the concern I have is that they may get jobs across the border if this cash doesn't materialise."

Lister Lane special school was one of the first to open in the country and celebrated its 90th anniversary in June.

Council assistant chief executive Mark Carriline, who is responsible for education, community and social care, said cash was being identified in the Council's capital programme. He hoped their would be an announcement in October.