A school is forced to turn off lights one day a week because of Tory cuts.
Campaigners said the head made the decision to provide cash elsewhere in the budget.
Other schools are closing at lunchtime on Fridays to save money while some heads are working shifts at other schools to raise funds.
There are also reports of heads cleaning toilets as well as acting as caretakers while support staff face the axe.
Sue McMahon, of West Yorkshire group Calderdale Against School Cuts, said the shocking accounts were from a survey of schools which showed senior staff in “an intolerable position”.
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She added: “We recently told of a caretaker working without the lights on. It is the same with the primary school with no lights.” The school is not being named for fear of driving away parents.
Halifax, the largest town in Calderdale, has suffered a yearly cut of £359 per pupil.
Kevin Courtney, of the National Education Union, said the Tories were short-changing children by running schools “on a shoestring”.
The Department for Education said money to English schools had gone up since 2017 and urged heads to use a price comparison service to get better energy deals.
