The Smith Family CEO Doug Taylor speaks out on school funding stoush as family budgets suffer

The boss of one of Australia’s most beloved children’s charities has urged state and federal politicians to end a stoush over funding as new figures reveal how hard families are being hit by increasing school costs.

The boss of one of Australia’s most beloved children’s charities has backed in a school funding deal snubbed by NSW’s Education Minister.

Minister Prue Car has been locked in a stoush with federal counterpart Jason Clare over who will pay for public schools to be uplifted to 100 per cent of the “school resourcing standard”, and has refused to sign off without the Commonwealth raising their share to 25 per cent - 2.5 per cent more than the offer currently on the table.

The Smith Family chief executive officer Doug Taylor urged the federal and state governments to put aside their differences, “find common ground” and sign off on the Better and Fairer Schools funding agreement for the sake of NSW’s most disadvantaged kids.

“We see great merit in that agreement,” he said.

“Young people (with) more complex needs are highly concentrated in disadvantaged schools.

The Smith Family CEO Doug Taylor. Picture: Robert Pozo

“What also matters is that the funds go to evidence-based measures, they have to go to things that have a proven track record of results.”

It comes as three in five of the charity’s beneficiaries report finding it harder to afford the basics for the children’s education, from school uniforms and stationery to excursions and camps.

NSW Deputy Premier and Education Minister Prue Car. In the background, federal Education Minister Jason Clare. The state and Commonwealth governments are at an impasse over school funding. Picture: NCA Newswire/Gaye Gerard

The annual Pulse survey of nearly 2500 families accessing a Smith Family ‘Learning for Life’ scholarship found 59 per cent found it “hard or very hard” to afford all the things their children needed for school this year.

When asked why that was the case, 55 per cent cited everyday expenses like rent, groceries, petrol and electricity going up, while 27.3 per cent said the cost of their child’s school needs had gone up.

Almost one in three said their children needed more supplies or more expensive items, while 17 per cent said the struggle was due to them or their partner earning less money.

Single mother of two Anna Gannon receives a Smith Family scholarship for both her daughter, currently in Year 12, and her son who is finishing his first year at TAFE.

Anna Gannon is the mother of a Year 12 student from Wagga Wagga, and a recipient of the much appreciated Smith Family scholarship. Picture: Rohan Kelly.

The program has been “the backbone” of her children’s education, the Wagga Wagga mum and marketing professional said.

“The cost of living has just been brutal - it’s debilitating for anyone, no matter what income you’re on,” Ms Gannon said.

For years, she slept on the sofa so her kids could have their own bedrooms while surviving on a single parent pension.

Things got tougher still when her children started their senior schooling, and suddenly Ms Gannon was expected to shell out for a brand new uniform including a $97 guernsey.

“It’s more excessive as to what you’re expected to spend - excursions and those sort of activations increased … it was $600 just for an art excursion over three nights.

“(My daughter) ended up making the choice not to go.”

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