Fifteen Sydney schools have axed weekly sport for their students after the costs for sport and extracurricular activities doubled in a single year.
The growing cost to hire a bus has meant 15 north shore public primary schools will cancel weekly sport this term after the transport bill went from $50 last year to $100 a term.
Lane Cove Public is one of 15 schools on the north shore to have axed its weekly sport competitionCredit: Dean Sewell
Public school revenue, which is the total amount of money brought in to pay for sports and extracurricular activities, went from $43 million a year in 2022 to $83 million in 2023, the NSW Department of Education latest annual report shows.
The doubling of the cost of sport buses comes after the former Coalition government privatised the state’s bus system. Since then, there has also been a citywide driver shortage, forcing existing private operators to hike wages in a bid to attract staff.
A letter sent to parents at the 15 schools including Neutral Bay, Lane Cove and Mosman Public outlined how weekly summer and winter Primary School Sports Association (PSSA) games would be cancelled and replaced with two gala days per term.
“There are several reasons to support our decision including, cost and availability of transport, oval bookings and supporting all schools to allow more participation,” the letter from North Shore Zone PSSA President Alan Russell said.
Speaking in his capacity as the Teachers Federation representative, Russell said the cost for parents doubled from $50 to $100 for one term of transportation in one year.
“We had previously used government buses, we would go to Willoughby depot or Ryde depot, there wasn’t an issue of availability. Once it was privatised, they said we could get you a bus, but the cost had gone through the roof,” he said.
“In our zone, it was a participation opportunity, for kids who weren’t playing soccer or cricket on Saturday at a club, they had an opportunity to compete. Our zone wasn’t competitive; we wanted to get the kids out playing sports.
Lane Cove Public P&C president Caleb Taylor said the move dramatically reduced the amount of sport being played. “I think it’s terrible, it’s going to be the death of weekly interschool sport,” he said.
Lane Cove Public parent Kim Hardwick said PSSA utilised local playing fields which gave students more ability to run around while playing.
Kim Hardwick plays soccer with her two girls, Elliot, 11 and Marlowe, 7.Credit: Dean Sewell
“We have spaces, we don’t have a big oval, we have a netball court. It wouldn’t be big enough to accommodate the kids, they go to local fields,” she said.
Private bus companies have been heavily impacted by driver shortages while wages have increased in addition to significant inflationary cost increases for diesel as well as depot rents.
The issue of out-of-pocket expenses for parents was raised earlier this week by Greens MP Abigail Boyd in NSW parliament, who questioned how revenue processed by the Department of Education for sporting and extracurricular activities could double in a single year.
NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Prue Car.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
Education Minister Prue Car said she hoped the upcoming National School Reform Agreement, which determines how much taxpayer cash is given to states and territories to fund schools, would give schools extra money, so students could participate in the full suite of subjects and extracurricular activities. “We don’t want that to happen, we need more funding for our public schools,” she said.
Department secretary Murat Dizdar said “bus costs, for example, have gone up to ferry children to PSSA sport or Wednesday afternoon sport” which was “an area of concern”.
A Department of Education spokesman said it was aware of the rising cost of all aspects of raising children and are sympathetic to the pressure this places on families.
“Financial contributions to NSW public schools are 100 per cent voluntary and payment is a decision for parents,” he said.
The Herald approached some bus providers for comment but did not receive a response for publication.
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