Principals fear they will lose control of how they spend money after overhaul of finances

Victorian school leaders have hit out at the Department of Education over a move that will take control out of their hands on how they spend allocated funding.

A new policy has been labelled as “devastating” by principals with fears they will lose control on how they spend money within the school community.

According to a Department of Education document, quietly circulated in mid-December, schools are being told to spend all their resource funding in the calendar year and not roll the funds over for future years.

Schools are also being encouraged to use locally raised funds, as opposed to those provided by the state government, to pay for capital works under $100,000 in value – up from $50,000 currently.

Principals and teachers fear the move would force schools to rely more on local fundraising and cash from school families to fund infrastructure.

The new policy also discourages schools from holding a surplus and bank money for larger projects.

One Victorian principal, who spoke on anonymity due to fear of losing his job, said schools will no longer have long-term plans for their surplus.

Victorian principals say the new policy is ‘devastating’.

“It’s devastating to know that we can’t have control over the way we spend our money,” he said.

“We’re also up to our knees with relying on the school community to assist with funding, we don’t want to put any further pressure onto them.”

Another principal said the “most important” part of her role was being strategic about where to spend money.

“Just because the Department might not know what the school’s plan is for that money, it’s pretty poor form to take away our autonomy on how to spend it for the following year.”

A teacher from Melbourne’s north said any move that might put more pressure on parents would impact struggling families.

“Parents can’t keep up with the costs of excursions, uniforms – everything. They can’t deal with the burden of being relied on more,” he said.

A Department of Education spokesperson said it was delivering the “biggest investment” in history to Victorian schools.

“We are ensuring today’s students benefit from our generational investment in education and school infrastructure,” he said.

Opposition Education spokeswoman Jess Wilson said the changes were stripping cash from schools.

“These changes are a clear attempt to shift costs onto parents and school communities by a government that cannot manage money,” she said.

“Stripping surpluses from local schools only undermines their financial sustainability and makes it harder for principals to plan for the future.

“Many schools only achieve a surplus as a consequence of ongoing staff shortages and these changes will make it even harder to attract and retain the teaching staff that so many schools are in desperate need of.

“Money raised by parents and school communities should be kept within that local school – not be stripped away to pay for the financial mismanagement of the Allan Government.”

The Department spokesperson added: “These changes will help to ensure today’s funding is spent on today’s students so young Victorians get the world-class education they deserve – whether it is to attract and retain the best and brightest teachers or improve the learning environment for current students.”