$400 student bonus cut, but these schools won sought-after upgrades

Families will have to do without the universally available $400 School Saving Bonus as the government takes a more targeted approach to cost-of-living relief.

With more than a third of the $282 million allocated to the scheme this year still unspent, the government will instead put $318 million over the next four years towards free public transport for under 18s, in a move that will save families $755 on the annual cost of a student transport pass.

The budget includes $318 million to subsidise students’ travel on public transport across Victoria. Credit: Jason Robins

The direct support effort, outlined in Tuesday’s state budget, will shift to disadvantaged school families.

Healthcare- or concession-card holding parents will be entitled to $400 per secondary student and $256 per primary-aged child next year to pay for camps, sports and excursions, in a move set to cost $152 million over the next four years.

Families with children at school have borne the brunt of the cost-of-living crisis, with education costs far outstripping every other area of household spending in the key CPI inflation measure since 2021, with schooling and associated costs soaring by 25 per in those four years.

There will be an extra 65,000 “get active kids vouchers” made available at a cost of $15 million, giving eligible families $200 to cover the price of sports registrations, memberships, clothing or equipment.

New or expanding schools

• Aintree North Primary School (Interim Name)
• Officer Brunt Road Specialist School (Interim Name).
• Bemin Secondary College
• Brinbeal Secondary College
• Walcom Ngarrwa Secondary College
• Yarrabing Secondary College

Other big-spending education budget items include $320 million to continue the disability inclusion program in government schools and $33 million next financial year for transport to specialist government schools, including new routes.

Students from non-English-speaking households will benefit from $56 million to be spent in the next two years, including more children in the English as a Second Language program.

There will be $159 million over four years for programs to hire, train and retain teachers, and the government will try to consolidate the growing popularity of vocational education at high schools with $27 million for “pathway co-ordinators”.

Efforts to tackle attendance rates, which remain stubbornly low since the pandemic, will receive a boost with $25.6 million allocated over four years to “address chronic absenteeism and support students to remain in learning”.

Schools that scored upgrades

• Belmont High School
• Broadford Primary School
• Buckley Park College
• Carrington Primary School
• Caulfield South Primary School
• Colac West Primary School
• Collingwood College
• Drouin Secondary College
• Edenhope College
• Gardenvale Primary School
• Hampton Primary School
• Hazel Glen College
• Kananook Primary School
• Kurunjang Secondary College
• Lakes Entrance Primary School
• Leongatha Secondary College
• Lismore Primary School
• Manorvale Primary School
• McKinnon Primary School
• Meadow Heights Primary School
• Melba College
• Melton South Primary School
• Mordialloc College
• Mount Eliza North Primary School
• Mount Erin College
• Mullauna Secondary College
• Orchard Grove Primary School
• Rangebank Primary School
• Roberts McCubbin Primary School
• San Remo Primary School
• Stawell West Primary School
• Streeton Primary School
• Wangaratta High School
• White Hills Primary School
• Yarraville West Primary School

A grade 1 numeracy check will be introduced to government schools as part of a $37 million boost to maths teaching that also promises free access to a “maths camp” for advanced students.

As part of a $29 million spending package dedicated to “excellence in reading and writing education”, one-on-one tutoring for kids who fell behind in the disruption of the pandemic will morph into a group tutoring program.

More than $1.14 billion has been allocated over the four-year estimates period for school buildings and capital works, including $336 million for two new schools, $321 million for upgrades, $148 million for relocatable classrooms and $237 million to buy land for future school builds.

But there was no money in the budget to bring forward the state’s commitment to fully fund government schools to the level recommended by Gonski nearly a decade ago, with the money from the deal Victoria struck with the Commonwealth this year not due to start flowing until 2031.

Delivering her budget to the annual lock-up, Symes defended the government’s past and present education funding priorities.

“I’m very proud of what we spend in public schools,” the treasurer said.

“The investment we have made in capital outstrips any other state.”

Symes said Victoria’s investment into school upgrades and new buildings outstripped other states, separate to the Gonski reforms.

“When I visit a school, I can’t tell you that schools say to me, what about that Gonski deal?” she said.

“They say, We really, really need a new classroom. We really, really need upgraded toilets.”

But the Australian Education Union, representing most government school teachers in Victoria, sharply criticised the failure of the budget to address the present funding shortfalls.

“Victoria’s public schools are the lowest funded and Victoria’s teachers are the lowest paid in Australia,” union state president Justin Mullaly said.

“When you don’t pay teachers properly it means you are under-valuing principals and education support staff as well.”

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