Funding growth for public schools
John Howard's Coalition Government introduced a funding system that poured money into the non-government sector at the expense of public schools.
Every year from 2003, federal funding of Catholic and independent school has grown by more than $250 million while public education has been struggling to cope with increasing numbers of children with special needs and large class sizes.
The nation’s 161 wealthiest private schools receive $432 million a year as a result of the generosity of the Howard government. Schools like Kings in Parramatta and Ascham continue to receive generous federal subsidies, enabling them to spend on each student more than twice the amount in public schools.
The spectacular growth in low-fee private schools, driven by a funding formula that is unfair and illogical, has undermined public education in many areas of NSW, leading to a much more divided society.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has locked this unfair and unreasonable funding bias in for another four years, with little hope of change before the 2016 election unless there is a new deal for public schools.
As a Senator, Lee Rhiannon would work to:
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remove the public funding of the wealthiest private schoolsand deliver a new equity program for the nation’s public schools dealing with the most disadvantaged students. Schools like Kings and Ascham could easily forgo their subsidies to provide an additional 1,500 teachers at public schools serving communities with high levels of poverty and social disadvantage
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fund all other non-government schools at their 2003 levels, indexed for inflation,because these schools have received massive increases in their funding since 2003, when they were already doing very well. By redirecting the money, public schools in NSW alone would receive more than 16,000 new teachers. The average public school would see a 9 percent increase in it teacher numbers, allowing for a reduction in class sizes, more assistance for children with special needs, and more opportunities for teachers to develop their professional abilities.
Reforming ‘My school’ and abolishing league tables
Julia Gillard spent two and a half years as Education Minister importing the worst of American policies.
Her name-and-shame ‘my school’ website is misleading and dangerous. The data does not represent the real strengths of many schools. Teachers are being forced to focus on narrow curriculum areas at the expense of a quality education. Schools serving disadvantaged communities are at risk of being stigmatised.
The publication of simplistic average scores has predictably led to the publication of league tables, despite Julia Gillard’s often-repeated opposition to them.
‘My school’ is not real accountability but an excuse for inaction on funding. Similar policies failed to help schools in New York and they will damage educational outcomes in Australia.
As a Senator Lee Rhiannon would work to:
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change the ‘my school’ website to provide richer information and stop the development of league tables. Replacing the publication of averages with graphs of the full distribution of results will not only give a fuller picture of the school’s range of outcomes but it will make simplistic and misleading comparisons impossible
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abolish pay bonuses and increase the salary for all teachers
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support the right of all students to be taught by a fully qualified educational professional.