Leading private school principals reject Education Minister’s fast-tracked funding offer
Independent and Catholic schools have until the end of Friday to decide whether to bring students back to campus and accept fast-tracked federal funding, but several principals have already rejected the offer.
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Some of Melbourne’s top private schools have rejected a Federal Government offer to fast-track funding if they bring students back to their campuses by the start of June.
Victoria’s independent and Catholic schools — which educate more than 350,000 students — have until the end of Friday to decide whether to accept the federal cash sooner and transition out of remote learning.
The Herald Sun understands independent schools will make their own decisions, and while Catholic Education Melbourne has not commented publicly, it has told principals it is working with the State Government on a “statewide process for all schools to transition back to in-person teaching”.
Several private school principals said on Thursday they would not take up the offer made by Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan, as they were committed to following Victorian Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton’s advice to continue remote learning in Term 2.
Toorak College principal Kristy Kendall told the Herald Sun: “There is no incentive the government can give us to jeopardise the health and safety of our children.”
“There are so many mixed messages but it’s my job to take them, research, consider and put them into our context. Then I’ll consider what to do next,” she said.
“We need to continue to take every day as it comes.”
Mount Scopus Memorial College principal Rabbi James Kennard said his school was “ready and willing to reopen … for face-to-face learning”.
But he said they would be guided by Prof Sutton “who is not presently saying it is safe to do so”.
“We will therefore not be accepting the Federal Government’s deal,” he said.
“It is immensely difficult for independent schools and their families when two jurisdictions are applying pressure in two different directions. This is not what joined-up government should look like.”
Bialik College principal Jeremy Stowe-Lindner said the offer was a “financial inducement” and was “in possible contradiction to state health advice”.
“I would like to assure the Bialik family that decisions on student and staff safety are not, and will not, be made on the basis of financial incentives — we base our actions purely on the basis of health and safety advice and guidance,” he said.
Melbourne Grammar headmaster Philip Grutzner said its decisions were based on “the safety, health and welfare of our students and staff as our highest priority”.
“On this basis Melbourne Grammar School is unable to accept the Federal Government’s offer to bring forward the delivery of allocated funding while that offer is linked to the timing of a return to on-campus learning,” he said.
As of yesterday afternoon, Brighton Grammar said it had not decided what to do.
While the national independent schools body welcomed Mr Tehan’s offer on Wednesday, Independent Schools Victoria accused him of using them as a “wedge” between the state and federal governments.
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