Fighting for Equity in Education
//Kevin Rudd’s threat to apply school re-structuring sanctions against schools that fail to improve student achievement is doomed to failure according to a new US report on school sanctions. The report concludes that there is little to no evidence that re-structuring requirements for low performing schools deliver any improvements in student achievement. Continue reading “School Re-structuring Options Fail in the US”
//One of the myths perpetrated by the critics of public education is that increasing expenditure does not lead to increased student achievement.
This myth has been debunked by a new study done at the London School of Economics which concludes that increasing expenditure on schools can raise student results, especially for disadvantaged students.
//At the Budget Estimates hearings last week on education, the Minister for Education, Andrew Barr, effectively disowned the Chief Minister’s budget figures. The Minister resorted to producing ‘rubbery’ figures not reported in the Budget Papers in order to give the appearance of a real increase in government school funding for 2008-09.
Continue reading “Minister for Education Disowns Budget Figures”//The ACT Government has claimed that it is increasing per capita funding for government schools in 2008–09 by 8% in real terms (that is, adjusted for inflation) and total real funding by 6%, contrary to the figures provided in its own budget papers.
The claims are made in a paper selectively circulated by the Minister for Education, Andrew Barr, which purports to refute the analysis of the schools Budget published by Save Our Schools. Evidently, the Government has been stung by criticism of the Schools Budget by SOS.
The Minister’s claims are false. At best, there is no increase in real funding available for government schools in 2008-09. In fact, real funding is likely to decline. The mistakes in the paper reflect either deliberate misinformation or extraordinary ignorance about the Budget Papers. Continue reading “False Claims by Minister on ACT Budget”
//Save Our Schools today accused the Stanhope Government of cutting funding to government schools in real terms in its latest Budget.
SOS spokesperson, Trevor Cobbold, said that, after adjusting for rising costs, funding for government schools will fall in 2008-09. Continue reading “Budget Deceit Covers Up Real Cuts in Govt. School Funding”
//Save Our Schools, a public education advocacy group, has called on the Rudd Government to include private school over-funding in its review of Federal Government expenditure.
SOS spokesman, Trevor Cobbold, said that over-funding for wealthy private schools should not be quarantined from the razor gang. Continue reading “Razor Gang Should Review Over-Funding of Private Schools”
//Today Cook and Village Creek Primary Schools closed their doors for the last time. Kambah High School was closed to make way for a P-10 ‘super school’ to be built on the site.
Parents and children at the three schools are having their lives disrupted and face higher financial costs all because the ACT Government misled the public.
Continue reading “Schools sacrificed because Government has misled the public”//Several well-known economists have criticised the large Budget surplus recorded by the ACT Government. They have accused the Government of poor economic management and they all say that the Government should be spending some of the surplus instead of sitting on it.
ANZ Chief Economist, Saul Eslake, was not impressed with the ACT Government’s financial management. He said that the ACT surplus stood out from that recorded by other states. “It’s a big miss, it’s hard to understand,” he told the Canberra Times (17 August).
Mr. Eslake said that the surplus raised questions as to whether school closures had to be so severe.
Continue reading “Economists Say Budget Surplus is Unjustified”//Remember Brendan Nelson’s edict that every school in Australia should have functioning flagpole and fly the Australian flag? It was part of the Government’s plan to promote Australian values and patriotism.
It also had a Government self-promotion component. As a condition of receiving Federal funding for flagpoles, schools were required to invite a coalition MP to a flag-unveiling ceremony, publish a picture of the MP in the school newsletter, and erect a plaque acknowledging that it was a gift from the Government.
Well, apparently Government MPs haven’t been turning up to the ceremonies and this has meant that many schools have been unable to meet the conditions for Federal funding. It seems that some Government members are not as committed to public patriotism as their leaders would wish. Continue reading “School Flagpole Farce”
//New figures show that, adjusted for inflation, government funding for private schools has increased since 2009, while funding for public schools has been cut. National Convenor of Save Our Schools, Trevor Cobbold, said that the new figures reveal the disastrous state of funding for public schools. Continue reading “Media Release: Funding for Public Schools Down, Funding for Private Schools Up”