Save Our Schools today accused the Labor Government and the Liberal-National Coalition of colluding to prevent full funding of public schools. SOS National Convenor, Trevor Cobbold, said that Albanese Government and the Opposition are on “a unity ticket to defraud public schools of billions in funding over the next five years”.
Mr. Cobbold said that Government and Coalition Senators last night voted down amendments moved by the Greens education spokesperson, Senator Allman-Payne, to ensure that public schools will be fully funded at 100% of their Schooling Resource Standard (SRS).
“The amendments would have set a floor to the Commonwealth share of the SRS of public schools at 25% of their SRS and prevented the use of accounting tricks by the states and the Northern Territory that have defrauded public schools. Under the funding agreements, the states and the Territory are allowed to claim non-SRS expenditures such as capital depreciation, school transport and regulatory costs as part of their share of funding the SRS of public schools.
“These accounting tricks have defrauded public schools of $13.1 billion over the last six years. They will defraud public schools of at least $13.3 billion over the next five years.”
“Labor has gone from promising to end the accounting tricks prior to the 2019 and 2022 election to denying they exist in government.”
“The continuing fraud means that public schools will still be under-funded by billions by 2029, 18 years after the Gonski Report recommended full funding of public schools. Meanwhile, private schools are over-funded in every state and territory except the Northern Territory and will remain so until at least 2029.”
“This is an unconscionable betrayal of public school students and their parents, particularly those most in need of learning support. It will be felt by students, parents, teachers and principals across Australia. Hundreds of thousands of low SES, Indigenous, disability, regional and remote area students will have their leaning restricted by the lack of full funding. Schools will face ongoing teacher shortages, teachers teaching out-of-field and daunting workloads.”
“Public school parents and teachers will remember this betrayal right up to the next election”.
“To their credit, Senators Lambie, Payman and Pocock supported the Greens amendments to ensure full funding for public schools”.
Money is not the answer to fixing our inadequate education programs. Australia needs to educate our children from the age of six to twelve with a basic education foundation ready for high school as it was in the 1950s. Our educationists don’t know what the problem is that’s why they can’t fix it. You don’t need to keep pouring money in you just need to teach.I am not young but I still remember and use what I learnt when I was young ,what an advantage. This country has to lift its game if it wants to improve.