Info@Immanuel News 1
From the Principal
On Monday, the long awaited Gonski Report on Funding for Australian Schools was released.
The Report with its 41 recommendations, was presented to the Federal Government on Monday.
Gonski had the task of creating a single, transparent and fair funding model across the three systems –Independent, Catholic and Public.
He has proposed a single National resource standard, which would see the combined State and Federal Government provide a set amount of funding to all students.
Independent and Catholic schools would receive a portion of that amount.
Gonski also proposed a $5 billion per annum injection into education. I believe education funding is a priority in society and any recommendation which injects more funds into our young Australians is a good thing.
The Government has indicated that they will now consult over the next six months, with a view for a new funding model to be implemented by 2014.
They have also added that here will be no injection of money until they achieve a budget surplus.
There are many positives in the Report that I completely support. However the ‘devil is in the detail’. It is not possible to assess at this stage if as a school we will receive more or less funding from the Government.
I am currently on the Association of Independent Schools “Review of Funding for Independent Shools” committee. We will continue to contribute to the debate and seek to clarify the detail.
The Government will be assessing its approach and deciding what recommendations to adopt.
The next six months will be critical for us and I will keep you informed as the discussions progress.
There is quite a bit of misinformation about funding for schools, therefore I have included a chart below showing the combined funding for both Federal and State Government for Independent Schools in South Australia. A copy of the Gonski Report and the Government response, is available in our online newsletter which can be accessed through the Parent Portal.
Kevin Richardson, Principal
