The Adam Rorris Report
The Report itself rewards careful reading. Rorris draws on a decade of local and international evidence that shows modern facilities with good lighting, temperature and acoustic controls and appropriate furniture affect learning opportunities and student outcomes.
But it is the findings dealing with the extraordinary disparities between capital funding for private schools as opposed to that for public schools which are the most damning. They prove that policies of both State and federal Governments mean that private students are worth a lot more of taxpayers money than public students. The next decade promises more of the same, with Australia falling further and further behind in the international stakes.
It is more than time that Australian taxpayers take over schools that they are already paying through the neck for.
DOGS refer to some of Adam Rorris’ findings :
Total capital investment
Key Finding 7.
Annual capital investment in Australian schools over the ten year period 2009–18 has varied from around $4.1 billion to $11.85 billion. Two features dominate the pattern of capital investment in Australian schooling;
(i) Private schools have greater total capital investment 7 years out of 10 even though they have approximately half the enrolments, and
(ii) The three years where public schools had more funds invested in capital than private schools was during the Building Education Revolution (BER) period when the Commonwealth government invested in schools as part of its fiscal stimulus program to deal with the Global Financial Crisis (GFC)
Enormous disparity in capital investment between public and private schools
Key Finding 8.
The pre-BER ( i.e. Building Education Revolution of Julia Gillard) period is the year 2009.
Pre-BER, private schools were investing an aggregate 10% more than public schools in capital ($3.2 billion vs $2.9 billion).
Key Finding 9.
The BER period is unique because it provides public schools with greater capital investment than private schools. During the BER-period (2010–12), public schools ($15.1 billion) outstripped private schools ($10.8 billion) in total capital investment.
Key Finding 10.
The Post-BER period (2013–18) sees a return to the old ways leaving public schools far poorer in investment ($11.4 billion) compared to private schools ($17.4 billion). National per student figures reveal the true gap between sectors
Key Finding 11.
On a per student basis, private schools enjoy greater investment every single year over the 10 years examined by this study.
Key Finding 12.
The difference in capital funding varies from approximately $1,700 per student in 2017 to $394 in 2011.
Key Finding 13.
The smallest gap in per student funding between private and public schools is found during the BER period when it was less than $500 per student in 2011 and 2012.
Key Finding 14.
From the end of BER funding, the gap in capital funding per student has increased beyond $1,000 for every year. Ratio of Inequity (ROI) The Ratio of Inequity (ROI) presents private school capital investment per student as a multiple of public school capital investment per student. It gauges the extent of the imbalance in capital investment between school sectors. For example, a value of 2 means that private schools have invested double the amount per student of public schools.
Key Finding 15.
Nationally, the ROI has been above ‘2’ for every year except for the three BER years of investment in public schools. All years before and after BER program, have shown a ratio of inequity stretching from a best case scenario of 2.1 to as high as 3.7. Every year studied, per student capital investment in private schools is at least double that in public schools and even up to 4 times greater. The ROI of capital investment between private and public schools is so extreme it is more a ratio of shame than inequity. It frames the signal failure of public policy to provide any semblance of balance in the provision of facilities across school sectors.
Key Finding 16.
The significance of the capital imbalance captured by the ROI is heightened because- (i) a majority of all students are in public schools, and (ii) students from poorer backgrounds are far more likely to be found in public schools. These students have less chance for resource deficiencies at the school level to be offset by household access to resources and support.10 The Annual Capital Investment Gap
Key Finding 17.
The average annual Capital Investment Gap per student has remained fairly consistent between the Pre-BER period ($1409) and the Post-BER period ($1466). The BER period improved the situation, but even during this period public schools were under-invested by more than $750 a student every year.
Key Finding 18.
The per student cumulative impact of the Capital Gap across years is substantial. Over 10 years, the capital gap in funding between private schools and public schools is more than $12,450 per student. In the post-BER period (2013–18), public schools received in total nearly $8,800 less per student for capital investment than private schools.
Key Finding 19.
The average annual Capital Investment Gap has been greatest in the post-BER years ($3.8 billion). This exceeds the $3.1 billion pre-BER (2009) and more than double the CIG during BER period when there was a gap of $1.7 billion.
Key Finding 20.
During the 10 year period 2009–18 the cumulative Capital Investment Gap between private and public sectors was $29.6 billion. This is the value of investment that was deprived from public schools if they had received the equivalent per student investment in their schools as for private schools. The Cumulative Capital Investment Gap Public schools were deprived of $21.5 billion in capital works in the first six years the coalition was in power. This is the additional investment they would have received for school facilities, equipment and in buildings if funded at the same rate as private schools.
Key Finding 21.
During the post-BER period (2013–18) the cumulative Capital Investment Gap between private and public sectors was $21.5 billion. This is the value of investment that was deprived from public schools if they had received the equivalent per student investment in their schools as for private schools.
Key Finding 22.
During the BER period (2010–12) public schools fared better, however the cumulative Capital Investment Gap between private and public sectors still exceeded $5 billion. This is the value of investment that was deprived from public schools if they had received the equivalent per student investment in their schools as for private schools.
Key Finding 23.
Capital investment per student over 10 years across public systems varies from an annual average of just over $1,000 in Tasmania to as high as $2,141 in the ACT. The average annual expenditure in the post-BER period (2013–18) collapses across all jurisdictions with Tasmania, South Australia and NSW having the lowest levels ($500, $572, $610).
Key Finding 24.
Public schools in all states and territories have under-investment compared to their private school counterparts. NSW, Victoria and QLD have the largest share of the capital investment gap (CIG) over all 10 years and for the post-BER period (approximately 80% for both).
Key Finding 25.
The cumulative capital investment gap over the 10 year period (2009–18) exceeds $8,000 per student for all jurisdictions except the ACT.