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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