Rural parents want financial boost for boarding school fees

Hundreds of rural Queensland families whose children are forced to travel thousands of kilometres for high school say the rising cost to board could threaten the survival of their small communities.

Hundreds of rural Queensland families whose children are forced to travel thousands of kilometres for high school say the rising cost to board could threaten the survival of their small communities.

The Isolated Children’s Parents Association is calling on the state government to boost its Living Away from home allowances scheme by a “one-off” $4000 to ease the financial burden on families.

There are 12 local government areas which have no secondary school meaning parents must either rely on potentially-lonely distance education or send their children to boarding school.

While the scheme supports boarding school tuition fees, the association says families are left to fork out by a minimum $8000 a year.

Some of Queensland’s most expensive schools charge parents about $30,000 in boarding fees, on top of tuition, travel and associated costs.

Some parents can afford it, some go without to ensure their child’s education but others bid farewell to the small towns their families have called home for generations.

Association president Louise Martin said boarding school was a necessity for many families that came at a financial and emotional cost.

“$4000 will just reduce the financial stress. It’s an immense onus on families and it’s about more than just going to school. It’s sport, music that city kids just take for granted,” Ms Martin said.

Isolated Children’s Parents Association president Louise Martin and Augathella parent Amanda Walker calling on the state government to increase the Living Away from Home Allowance Scheme.

“The soaring cost of living is straining families’ budgets, and access to affordable education is essential. Families living and working on the land and in remote towns are equally affected.”

For Augathella graziers Amanda and Andrew Walker a trip to the Gold Coast to see their children takes more than a day on dirt roads.

Ms Walker estimated the cost for Darcy and Pat’s secondary education would come in just shy of half a million dollars.

“It’s just my husband and I on the property. So work can stop if I have to get down,” Ms Walker said.

“We make a massive sacrifice to send our kids away. An extra $4000 will make a huge difference to people’s lives.”

Ms Martin said some parents chose to move to the city rather than fork out the cost of boarding. She said it was a misconception that only the “filthy rich” could afford boarding.

“If families move to the east coast, they don’t come back. Towns lose community volunteers, it’s a huge flow on affect,” she said.

“This is not a full solution but it might help some families decide to stay in our communities.”

A department of education spokeswoman thanked the association for its submission and said it was under consideration as part of budget processes.

The spokeswoman said the department aligned any increase with the living away from home allowances scheme with increases in the consumer prince index, recognising of the overall cost of increased prices and charges.

She said the scheme increased by 4.9 per cent from January 2022, and by 7.3 per cent from January 2023, in line with the CPI.

“Through the scheme, the department provides financial support to eligible Queensland families whose children need to live away from home to attend a state school or an accredited non-state school,” the spokeswoman said.

“Each year approximately 1400 students access financial support under the scheme. As at the end of February 2023, 813 students had applied for scheme in Semester 1.”