The Federal Government’s ‘termination” of the original Gonski model means the 42 schools in the Gilmore electorate will be denied $19 million of recurrent funding.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That’s what NSW Teachers Federation country organiser John Black told principals, parents and teachers at the Gilmore launch of the Fair Funding Now! campaign in Bomaderry on Monday night.
Mr Black pointed to Freedom of Information (FoI) statistics showing that four schools alone in Gilmore stood to miss out on $1 million each in funding in 2018-19.
Nowra East Public School is the worst hit, slugged with a $1.3 million funding cut.
Schools in the Whitlam and Cunningham electorates have also been hit hard, with five schools funding also slashed by over $1 million each.
Warrawong High School will miss out on $1.3 million over the next two years, while Illawarra Sports High School in Berkeley will be denied close to $1.2 million.
Mr Black said the goal of the campaign was to have every single public school operating at the schooling resource standard by 2023.
He said the campaign also aims to reverse “the Turnbull Government cuts which will cost Gilmore schools over $19 million in 2018 and 2019 alone”.
“We are running the Fair Funding Now campaign because a fair go for all children is needed now,” Mr Black said.
“All children should have the opportunity to get the highest quality public education.
“Polling by the union shows the overwhelming majority of voters in 18 key marginal electorates, including Gilmore on the South Coast, believe federal funding for public school is too low and that funding should be increased straight away.
“School funding is more important to voters than cutting company tax rates.”
Mr Black said while he backed some of the changes to fix Australia’s lagging education system, recommendations from the original Gonski report and the latest updated version were “meaningless” if they were not backed up with proper resourcing.