Warrawong High School principal Stephen Goodley. Picture: SYLVIA LIBER
MERCURY. NEWS. pic of warrawong high school principal stephen goodley who is commenting on the education cuts announced yesterday.. pic by sylvia Liber. 11 September 2012. job number 00115471
NSW Teachers Federation president Maurie Mulheron has called on teachers, support staff, parents, students, unions and the community to unite to defend public education against "the biggest attack in the state's history".
Mr Mulheron, former Keira High School principal, said industrial action would be considered as part of a massive campaign against the NSW government's decision to cut $1.7 billion from the education system over four years.
"We have swung into action and galvanised our members and parents into contacting their local MPs by getting on the Putting Students First website (www.puttingstudentsfirst.org.au/) and sending emails," he said.
"We have also faxed all school sites and TAFE colleges throughout NSW and sent tens of thousands of emails.
"We already passed a resolution during the teachers' strike on June 27 that future industrial action would be considered, and it will be considered along with a number of other strategies.
"There will be no respite to our campaign - we will fight every single day until we defeat this."
On Tuesday, NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli revealed the plan to save $1.7 billion over four years by making sweeping cuts to public schools and TAFE NSW and capping funding for private schools.
The plan includes cutting 600 support positions in state and regional education offices as well as 800 TAFE positions, and the phasing out of 400 school administration positions by 2015.
"This is the true agenda of the government's Local Schools, Local Decisions policy ..." Mr Mulheron said.
"We said back then that it would be about ripping funding from the system, and now that's been confirmed."
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said "unions will do what unions do" when asked if he was bracing for industrial action from the state's education workers.
"What the government intends to do is respect the broad public interest to ensure the state lives within it means," he said.
"I can't spend money that I don't have. If I do I'm condemning those students at school now to further deeper cuts in the future."
Public Service Association regional organiser Tony Heathwood said support staff were involved in roles in schools and at TAFE such as student enrolments, overseeing attendance, financial management and support for teachers in specialist areas.
"The government has dismissed these people as not doing valuable work, as back office staff," he said. "But they are frontline support staff who do the background work without which teachers can't deliver the quality of education students deserve."
Warrawong High School principal, and Secondary Principals Council organiser for the Illawarra, Stephen Goodley, said support staff were a vital part of every school.
"The connection schools have with these support staff is fantastic and a whole heap of corporate knowledge will be lost along with them," he said.
"If schools have to replace all these areas of support, it will put huge financial pressures on them."