Victoria’s broke schools struggling to make ends meet
Desperate schools across Victoria are being forced to cut programs and beg charities for money just to pay for the basics. Search the list to see if your child’s school is on it.
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Exclusive: Schools across the country are in the grip of a financial crisis and facing having to cut student programs with 2020 marked up as one of the worst years on record.
Fires, floods, drought and the COVID-19 pandemic have depleted the coffers of some of our poorest schools and even impacted some of the wealthiest ones.
Schools in every state and territory are increasingly having to beg charities and corporates just to pay for the basics.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed public schools’ reliance on parents dipping into their own pockets and without those contributions many schools are facing financial black holes which some say will take up to five years to recover from.
Some are reporting students will miss out as “extras” such as devices, sporting programs, excursions, and courses for students who need extra support, while others are warning end-of-year-celebrations such as graduation events will be impacted.
A survey by Australian charity Schools Plus – which helps connect donors with schools in need to improve student outcomes – found more than a third of schools had been impacted financially this year.
Almost 50 per cent of respondents said the COVID-19 pandemic had affected students’ learning, while almost a quarter said they needed more help to support the mental and physical wellbeing of students and teachers.
With so many families affected financially by the pandemic, some states put a ban on schools asking for the fees earlier this year but that is now being lifted.
Parents are now being asked again for their voluntary school fees although in Tasmania the practice has been banned and the government is reimbursing schools.
In Victoria a spokesman said they had not observed any major decrease in revenue being received by schools but that payments could be deferred.
Deakin University Senior Lecturer in Education Emma Rowe said most school are too-heavily reliant on parent contributions.
She said in some cases, schools in more affluent areas were receiving four times the amount of parents contributions compared to those in less-affluent suburbs.
“When you set up that reliance you are going to see a situation like this where the gap will increasingly widen,” Ms Rowe said.
“Schools will see an impact on their income this year without doubt especially the lower socio-economic schools but I’d say it is across all of the quartiles,” she said.
Schools Plus CEO Rosemary Conn believes demand for financial help will skyrocket, prompting the organisation to launch a new crisis appeal to raise funds for schools.
“The disadvantage caused by remoteness is being exacerbated by the bushfires but now when you think about where jobs are essentially likely to be lost as well it will start to impact in metro areas because of COVID,” Ms Conn told News Corp Australia.
News Corp spoke to one school principal who said without a charity turning up earlier in the year with backpacks filled with stationary, neither the school nor parents would be able to afford to cover the costs.
Another said they were going ‘cap in hand’ to local businesses asking for help to fund programs previously covered by fundraising.
The United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Australia has also been inundated with requests from desperate Australian schools asking for grants.
“Demand has well exceeded our initial expectations, demonstrating that there is an ongoing need for supporting students in the schools that have been hardest hit by multiple crises,” Australian Programs Director Nicole Breeze said.
President of the P & C Federation Tim Spencer said he expected the financial fall out to last several years.
“Probably five years minimum, some of these schools have substantial issues in their communities,” Mr Spencer said.
He said money was unevenly spread across schools, with some having pots of money to lean on but others stretched too thin.
“There’s obviously a bucket of money from state and federal level that needs to be spread across all of those schools, is it done in the best and most efficient way? Probably not. There is a lot of wastage in the system.”
Australian Council of State Schools Organisations chair Andrew Bidwell agreed, saying it was times like this it becomes clear a “simple, transparent and fair funding model” is needed.
“And because it’s not in that state, schools then really need to rely on parents, families and the community to subsidise where that’s required.”
The fires came within one kilometre of Bruthen Primary School in East Gippsland, but the pain isn’t over yet for the small community.
Principal Michelle Young is one of four teachers who do a lot more than just educate.
Even the bushfires themselves were just adding another layer of trauma onto an already struggling town where many families were having trouble finding money to feed their stock through the drought.
“All of a sudden we weren’t worrying about the water in the dams, we were thinking about the water to fight the fires,” Ms Young said.
Ms Young was applying for a Schools Plus grant that will pay for additional tutoring to help students catch up and wellbeing programs to support traumatised children.
“We have noticed since coming back from remote learning that we haven’t made the same amount of progress that we would have normally made,” she said.
“I am really proud of the kids and the parents because they have done a great job and they are moving forward but it isn’t the same.
“We need to close the gaps and do something for the kids that make them feel like they can be successful and that things can get better – it’s not all doom and gloom.”