SCHOOL FUNDING: NEEDS BEFORE DEEDS AND CREEDS

 

Above – “Leichhardt Public School 070714-2573“,  Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic

Kevin Rudd lived up to his ALP tag – Agree with the Liberal Party that is. Yesterday, he announced that he would retain the Coalition’s funding model for schools until at least 2012. The announcement was met with approval from independent school groups and those connected with private school systems including Sydney’s Cardinal George Pell. The Australian Education Union criticised the decision though it is unlikely they will stop supporting Labor because of it. In all of the arguing, people are talking about schools but not one person is talking about what students need.

There are many types of school in Grayndler. We have public schools, Catholic schools and independent private schools. All students are entitled to a good education, regardless of which school they choose.

This is not and should never be about public school discipline, religious instruction in schools, political correctness, values or the big bank accounts of private schools at the expensive end of the scale. The first criterion that should determine school funding is need. If a school in Petersham has a leaking roof but a school in Ashfield doesn’t, then all other things being equal, it should be obvious who gets the funding first.

The state of our public schools is a cause for concern. Though it is mainly a state issue, the Commonwealth has assumed a role with its big budget and to see it use its role to fund private schools at an increasing rate than they are funding public schools suggests that need is not a big factor in the decision making. By agreeing to this policy, Labor is rejecting the idea of need as a basis for funding.

At the same time, this does not mean that private schools go on the hit list Mark Latham was fond of. Private schools have received public funds for decades and this won’t stop. The fees that parents pay at private schools are not even close to how much it costs to teach each student. In many cases, such as local Catholic schools, families are as rich or poor as their public school counterparts down the street. If fees reflected the real cost of education then there wouldn’t be many private schools.

The Australian Democrats recognise that a model based on need should determine school funding. For too long, governments have been looking beyond the issue of need, tying funds to forced compliance with government policy. It’s time that sort of approach was stopped and we gave students the education they deserve.

 

NOTE: For the record, I was educated at two Catholic schools.