Press Release 600

AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL FOR THE DEFENCE OF GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS

 

PRESS RELEASE 600#

 

PUBLIC FUNDING OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS OUTSTRIPS

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

IN VICTORIAN ELECTORATES

 

DOGS received the following letter with statistical information from a recently retired Public Schools Adviser.

 

 

Dear ADOGS

 

As a recently retired Public School Careers Adviser I have analysed "My School" funding data for my Community for a number of years.

In every Community in the Macedon Electorate with a Catholic and State School the Catholic schools receive higher Public funding regardless of size or ICSEA. (See attached)

 

So Stephen Elder can't accuse me of "Cherry Picking" I have also analysed Castlemaine, Broadmeadows and Gladstone Park with same results. 

 

I was intrigued that Elder from the Victorian Catholic Education Office stated that a Committee at the CEO sits down and allocates the Public Funding according to need - are they running their own Private Gonski?

 

I attach documents for your information, use / publish as you will.  I have deliberately focussed in part on Schools of a similar size.  Kyneton, Lancefield, Castlemaine and Gladstone Park clearly show Elders "untruths?"

 

Have sent to local Fed and State MP's (all ALP) - no response.  Sent to AEU (and spoken to them) - Little apparent interest.

 

Cheers

 

J.B.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MY SCHOOL 2014 / 15

PUBLIC FUNDING PER SCHOOL (EXCLUDING FEES)

 

SCHOOL                                ICSEA      ENROLMENT          PUBLIC FUNDING Per Student (Federal + State) School Total

 

Our Lady’s Kyneton               1044       278         8,940 (6720  + 2220)  $2,485,320 

Kyneton PS                            1005       286         8,138 (1441+ 6697)  $2,327,468 (= - $157,852)

Ie  Our Lady’s 8 fewer students but $157,852 more.

 

St Michaels Daylesford           1013       97                          11,023 (8640 + 2563) $1,069,231

Tylden PS                               1078       99                            8,712 (1478 + 7234) $862,488  (= -$206,743)

Trentham PS                          1043       82                            9,389 (1589 + 7800) $769,898 (= -$299,333)

Malmsbury PS                        1021       82                            9,184 (1647 = 7537) $753,088 (= -$316,143)

Ie St Michaels 2 students less but $206,00.00+ more than Tylden PLUS FEES! – 3 more teachers?

 

St Mary’s Lancefield             1027       146                         10,856 (8212 + 2644) $1,584,976

Lancefield PS                        1024       165                         7,598 (1318 + 6280) $1,253,670 (= - $331,306)

                Lancefield PS 19 more students and $331,306 LESS

 

StAmbrose Woodend            1064       224                         8,724 (6557 + 2167) $1,954,176

Woodend PS                         1083       390                         7,273 (1231 + 6042) $2,836,470 (= + $882,294)

Macedon PS                          1099       218                         7,459 (1395 + 6064) $1,626,062 ( - $328,114)

NOTE WOODEND PS 32% more Funding but 57% more students. Macedon 6 less students

BUT! NOTE:   The $ actually  received by Government Schools is significantly less than stated because “…The reported figures for Victorian government schools do not only reflect income direct to individual schools. The reporting includes a significant amount of services delivered in kind such as primary welfare officers, student support services, school nurses, computer and internet services, IT infrastructure and a range of other programs and services that benefit students, either directly or indirectly. These items are classified as ‘revenue’ as they represent a benefit to schools”.   Source:  My School Website

MY SCHOOL 2014 PUBLIC FUNDING (Fees Excluded)

 

CASTLEMAINE

 

St Mary’s Catholic

Enrol  134  ICSEA  1034     Funding/student  $11,053  Funding Total  $1,481,102

Castlemaine North PS

Enrol  198  ICSEA  1113     Funding/student  $7474  Funding Total  $1,479,852

(64 MORE students - $1,250 LESS Public Funding)

Castlemaine PS

Enrol  184  ICSEA  1029     Funding/student  $8238  Funding Total  $1,515,792

 (50 More students - $34,690 more Public Funding = $693.80 per extra student

Winters Flat PS

Enrol  213  ICSEA  1048     Funding/student  $8027  Funding Total  $1,709,751

(79 more students – only $228,649 more public funding  ($2894 per extra student)

Campbells Creek PS

Enrol  134  ICSEA  972     Funding/student  $10,440  Funding Total  $1,398,960

(Same enrolment as St. Mary’s – much lower SES - $82,142 LESS Public Funding = One teacher salary)

St Mary’s Catholic

Enrol  134  ICSEA  1034     Funding/student  $11,053  Funding Total  $1,481,102

Castlemaine North PS

Enrol  198  ICSEA  1113     Funding/student  $7474  Funding Total  $1,479,852

 

(64 MORE students - $1,250 LESS Public Funding)

Castlemaine PS

Enrol  184  ICSEA  1029     Funding/student  $8238  Funding Total  $1,515,792

(50 More students - $34,690 more Public Funding = $693.80 per extra student

Winters Flat PS

Enrol  213  ICSEA  1048     Funding/student  $8027  Funding Total  $1,709,751

(79 more students – only $228,649 more public funding  ($2894 per extra student)

Campbells Creek PS

Enrol  134  ICSEA  972     Funding/student  $10,440  Funding Total  $1,398,960

(Same enrolment as St. Mary’s – much lower SES - $82,142 LESS Public Funding = One teacher salary

But Remember

“…The reported figures for Victorian government schools do not only reflect income direct to individual schools. The reporting includes a significant amount of services delivered in kind such as primary welfare officers, student support services, school nurses, computer and internet services, IT infrastructure and a range of other programs and services that benefit students, either directly or indirectly. These items are classified as ‘revenue’ as they represent a benefit to schools”.   Source:  My School Website.

 

 

 

BROADMEADOWS

 

St Dominics Broadmeadows

ICSEA  911  Enrol 202  Public Fund  11202 + 2122 = 13324 ($2,691,448)

 

Broadmeadows Primary School

ICSEA  927  Enrol 286  Public Fund  2768 + 9291 = 12059 ($3,448,874)

As far as I can see this is the best funded Public Primary School in Victoria.  Still receives less per student than St Dominics.

 

Meadows PS

ICSEA  898  Enrol 299  Public Fund  1773 + 7944 = 9717 ($2,905,383)

Ie an extra 97 students v St Dominics – 4xclasses – “earns” an extra $213,935 – ($2,205 per student)

 

Broadmeadows Valley PS

ICSEA  906  Enrol 262  Public Fund  2574 + 8346 = 10920 ($2,,861,040)

Ie an extra 60 students v St Dominics “earns” an extra $169,592.  Will this pay for the 3 extra teachers required?

 

 

 

GLENROY

 

Corpus Christi Primary Glenroy

ICSEA  982  Enrol 303  Public Fund  8495 + 2754 = 11249 ($3,408,447)

 

Glenroy Central PS

ICSEA  927  Enrol 221  Public Fund  2421 + 8268 = 10689 ($2,362,269)

 

Glenroy West PS

ICSEA  999  Enrol 191  Public Fund  1873 + 7606 = 9479 ($1,810,489)

 

 

GLADSTONE PARK

 

School of the Good Shepherd Gladstone Park

ICSEA  1004  Enrol 281  Public Fund            7083 + 2162 = 9245 ($2,597,845)

 

Gladstone Views PS

ICSEA  994  Enrol 281 Public Fund   1498 + 6424 = 7922  ($2,226,082)  (ie $371,763 less PUBLIC funding than School of Good Shepherd).  Enrolment identical! Catholics more cash.

 

Gladstone Park PS

ICSEA  975  Enrol 413  Public Fund  1547 + 7178 = 8725 ($3,603,425)

 

 

From Parliamentary Library

AGSRC – 2013.

AGSRC amounts are $10,057 (Primary) and $12,445 (Secondary).  These amounts are used as the initial 2013 amounts until indexation (3.5%) occurs later this year. The National Schools SPP for government schools and per student GRGs for non-government school students and targeted programs for non-government schools are indexed annually in line with changes in AGSRC. Targeted programs for non-government schools are indexed annually in line with movements in the AGSRC Index.

NOTE: THE AGSRC FOR 2014 (AFTER INDEXATION) WAS $10,723.33 (PRIMARY) AND $13,422.96 (SECONDARY)

How are the AGSRC amounts calculated?

The AGSRC amounts are based on state and territory government recurrent expense data (thus excluding capital expenditure, depreciation and notional user cost of capital), which includes both Australian Government and state and territory government funds, maintained By the Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood (SCSEEC).  The expense

data includes:

  • employee-related expenses:
    • –  salaries, wages and allowances paid to ‘in-scope’ staff (including both teaching and non-teaching staff) and
    • –  salary on-costs, including superannuation, payroll tax, long service leave, workers compensation insurance and fringe benefits tax
  • out-of-school expenses: that is, expense items that do not fit the definition of in-school expenses, such as teachers based in a regional office and the costs of regional and central administration (apportioned across primary and secondary levels of schooling according to enrolments at each level)
  • redundancies: payments of accrued leave, other entitlements, superannuation and special incentives
  • other operating expenses: student transport, cleaning, utilities, repairs and maintenance, minor stores, plant and equipment, rentals and leases and other (for example, telephone, computer lines, postage and security) and
  • grants and subsidies paid directly to school for any school education purpose

The final primary and secondary AGSRC amounts for any one year are calculated by dividing the total of these expenses for each level of education (primary and secondary) in the previous financial year by the average of government school primary and secondary enrolments for the previous two years, using Australian Bureau of Statistics enrolment data. Therefore, the 2012 AGSRC amounts were calculated using 2010–11 expense data divided by average enrolments for 2010 and 2011.

And (From the Catholic Education Office website)

                        

     -According to the latest data provided by the Australian Government’s My School website, Catholic students receive, on average, 20 per cent less government funding than students in government schools.

.

Facts to share with your community (From Catholic Ed Website)

                         -One-in-five Australian students attends a Catholic school.

            

             -Catholic schools operate with an average of 10 per cent less recurrent funding than government schools. Fair funding for Catholic schools would help to take the pressure off government schools.

                        

     -According to the latest data provided by the Australian Government’s My School website, Catholic students receive, on average, 20 per cent less government funding than students in government schools.

                         -If government funding does not keep pace with the cost of educating children, the result is equal to a funding freeze. A funding freeze for Catholic schools is the same as a funding cut.

            

     -Increasing school fees will put pressure on families to transfer their kids from Catholic schools to government schools. Fair funding for -Catholic schools will mean less pressure on government schools.

                      

Many thanks to our researcher.

 

 

 

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