Catholic leaders fear that schools will be forced to increase fees

Catholic leaders fear that the Federal Government’s new school funding model will force some schools to significantly increase their fees.

Catholic leaders are worried that school fees will rise.

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SCHOOL funding has been the big news story over the past fortnight.

Just before last week’s Federal budget, the Turnbull Government announced a new funding model that would take effect from the beginning of 2018.

The Prime Minister also announced another education inquiry – Gonski 2.0 – which will explore the best ways to use government funding to get the best outcomes for students, particularly students with high needs and gifted students.

Overall, the new model provides an increase in funding over the next 10 years.

However, Catholic education leaders have been critical of the announcement for a couple of reasons:

Executive director of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Parramatta Greg Whitby.

Funding for Catholic schools will increase at a slower rate compared to government and independent schools; A new mechanism is being introduced that will result in some low-fee paying Catholic schools receiving less funding than they currently receive; There was no consultation with Catholic leaders about the changes before they were announced.

The lack of detail in the new model has created a great deal of confusion and fear that some Catholic schools may have to significantly increase their fees in the years ahead to meet what some modelling suggests will be a major funding shortfall. There were many stories in the media about this last week.

Staff erect posters on the outside of the school at a public meeting for all Catholic school parents, teachers to discuss the Government’s funding cut to Catholic schools in the ACT. Picture Gary Ramage

It is very disappointing that we are once again back arguing about how much funding each education system should receive. What should matter above everything else is that all students, regardless of where they live or the school that they attend, receive a great education. A school’s postcode or the suburb that a student lives in should not determine how the school is resourced – funding should be based on need. School funding should always be about equity, not politics.

The Diocese of Parramatta educates around one in four western Sydney students. I am well aware of the sacrifices that our parents make when they choose a Catholic education for their child and I appreciate that many of our families are already struggling to meet ever-increasing living costs. With this in mind, we have no desire­ to increase fees, outside of the normal annual cost of living increases. It has always been our intention to make Catholic educations as affordable as possible.

What we need right now is a clear and unambiguous commitment from the Federal Government that students in low-fee paying Catholic schools will not be negatively impacted upon by any new funding model. Then we can get on with doing what we do best – educating young people. Is it too much to ask?

Greg Whitby is the executive director of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Parramatta