Schools Funding

There is a lot of confusion in the debate about how schools are funded.

Here are the key facts that you need to know:

Who is Responsible? The Federal Government and the state and territory governments have responsibility for funding our schools.

Both levels of government provide funding for the ongoing operation of schools and for building and equipment.

 

Has the Federal Governments Always Spent More on Private Schools? When the federal government first provided annual funding to schools in the 1970s the majority of money went to public schools.

But over time the private school share has increased dramatically – well in excess of any increase in enrolment.

 The biggest increases came under the Howard Government to the point where public schools with two thirds of the students only got one third of the federal funding.

 According to the Productivity Commission the Howard Government spent $1,051 per public school student compared to $4,515 per private school student.

 

Has the Labor Government made a difference? The Labor Government has delivered large increases in funding to public and private schools for both buildings and facilities and annual running costs.

According to a report by funding expert Jim McMorrow government schools will have received $35 billion in total from the Labor Government by 2013 – an increase of 81 per cent.

But over the same period private schools will receive $47 billion in total – an increase of 50 per cent. 

The increases have not significantly changed the share of funding that public schools receive.

Despite teaching over two-thirds of all students, the public school share of federal funding will be only 36 per cent in 2013.

 

How do private and public schools compare in their overall resources? The latest research shows that because of their high levels of federal funding and fee income, private schools receive from all funding sources around $15,000 per student a year.

That compares to around $11,000 per student in public and Catholic schools.

 

What Needs to Change?  Extra funding for public schools need to come from both the Federal Government and individual state and territory governments.

However with its superior resources and revenue-raising ability it must be the Federal Government that delivers a significant increase for public schools.

The review of federal school funding which is now underway is our chance to put in place a fairer funding system that better meets the needs of Australian families and students.

We need to move away from a system that favours private schools and delivers billions to them each year regardless of educational need or resources.

 A new funding system must reflect the Federal Government’s primary responsibility, which is to properly and adequately fund our public schools.

 

 

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