School Outcomes and Funding in South Australia – An Election Brief

The following are key points of a brief on the South Australian election campaign by Save Our Schools. The full brief can be ddowloaded below.

South Australian public schools face deep inequity and chronic underfunding, especially for socio-economically disadvantaged students. Candidates in the South Australian election must stand up for public schools.

Inequity in school outcomes

• Half to two-thirds of socio-economically disadvantaged South Australian Year 9 students fail to meet national literacy and numeracy standards.
• Achievement gaps between advantaged and socio-economically disadvantaged students grow throughout schooling years and equal 4–5 years of learning by Year 9.
• A substantial proportion of socio-economically disadvantaged students do not complete Year 12.
• Socio-economically disadvantaged students are concentrated in public schools and over 90% of socio-economically disadvantaged schools are public schools.

Public schools are vastly underfunded

• Public schools have far fewer resources per student than Catholic and Independent schools despite the learning challenges they face.
• Government funding increases since 2009 have favoured private schools by more than double.
• Despite a new funding agreement, public schools will still not be fully funded by 2034 and the large part of the increase is delayed until after 2029.
• Cumulative public school underfunding is estimated at $3.1 billion over ten years from 2025to 2034.
• Funding shortfalls are driven by delayed Commonwealth and state funding increases and accounting tricks.
• The new funding agreement between the Commonwealth and the state government discriminates against public schools.

Increasing equity in education is an election priority

• South Australia’s new Strategy for Public Education shows gains in student enrolments and achievements in public schools. It is important to continue investments in equity, teacher professionalism, student agency, and wellbeing to sustain these positive trends.
• The fundamental education challenge for candidates in the South Australian election is to increase equity in education. This means increasing the proportion of students who complete Year 12 (or its equivalent) and reducing the achievement gaps between rich and poor.
• Election candidates must commit to full funding of public schools by 2029 including removal of all accounting tricks that defraud public schools. Full funding of public schools will enhance the effectiveness of the state’s Public Education  Policy Strategy.

The increased funding for public schools should provide more teachers, support staff, and wraparound services. It could support policies such as full-service schools, family engagement, school meals, and removal of compulsory fees to improve equity.

Four quesitoins for election parties and candidates

In the election campaign, candidates and parties must clearly answer four basic questions:

1. Do you support full funding of South Australian public schools by 2029?
2. Do you support a revision of the funding agreement between the Commonwealth and South Australian governments to require the Soth Australian Government to increase its funding share of public schools to 75% of their SRS by 2029s?
3. Do you support removing all special allowances in the current Commonwealth-South Australian bilateral funding agreement that allow the South Australian Government to defraud public schools by including non-school expenditures as part of its share of the SRS?
4. Do you support the new Strategy for Public Education that show early positive gains in education outcomes by giving priority to inclusion, wellbeing and increased equity in school outcomes?