Allan’s school funding cuts pit underpaid teachers against underresourced students

My first teaching job was in a small government school in a tiny town in regional Victoria. From prep to Year 12, there were only 200 students, with some of the kids coming from multi-generational sheep farming families. Many others had moved to the area more recently, attracted to the cheap rents in the region.

It was in this close-knit community school that I really became a teacher. I learned how to manage a classroom of vibrant teenagers and how to coax young people away from their screens to the task at hand.

The differences between private and public schools are so stark they could be part of different industries altogether.Credit: Michele Mossop

I also learned how to educate the next generation in a cash-strapped, time-poor, resource-deprived environment.

At every turn, my little public school encountered funding barriers. When I tried to plan an excursion or a guest speaker, I sent the business manager into a frenzy. When I wanted new books or class resources, I had to buy them myself. I printed sparingly, and only ever in black-and-white.

But the most devastating repercussion of inadequate finances was in the classroom. Many of my students had learning difficulties and needed one-on-one support. It was impossible for me to sit with each of them individually in a bustling classroom of more than 20 people. On several occasions, the school applied for extra money from the Department of Education so that I could have an aide to work with these students. Sometimes these applications were approved, but with limited funding available, the threshold for granting this money was so high that our applications were more often denied. Kids began to slip through the cracks.

Alarmed at the lack of help from the department, I held private tutoring before and after school and at lunchtimes. Almost immediately, these students began contributing in class discussions and their marks improved. All they had needed was a little support. But the extra work was taking its toll on me, and I was becoming exhausted.

Last week, The Age revealed Premier Jacinta Allan and the Labor government covertly took $2.4 billion away from our public school kids, a move that was formalised in Tuesday’s budget. As someone who has taught these students, I felt abandoned and appalled. Victorian teachers are already the lowest paid in the country and Victorian classrooms are the most under-resourced. Yet, it looks as though our state’s position behind the rest of the nation is only set to grow.

The money and resources allocated to teachers by the department are woefully insufficient to educate our young people. If teachers want to provide a quality education, they have no choice but to offer up their own time and dig into their own pockets. In this way, a lack of adequate funding pits the needs of teachers against those of students. Ultimately, both will suffer.

I worked at my beloved public school for three years before I took a break from teaching. When I was ready to return, I realised the public teacher salary would not be enough for me to comfortably pay my mortgage. I felt my only option was to work at a private school.

Those years in the private system were entirely different. I was paid more than enough to cover my living expenses, to the point where I had surplus money in my budget. As a French teacher, I had a native French-speaking staff member in all of my classes. No applications made, no questions asked.

My students were granted every opportunity to succeed, and I was provided with everything I needed to be a great teacher.

The contrasts between my experience in public and private schools were so stark, it was difficult to recognise them as being part of the same industry.

However, there is one element of all schools, public or private, that remains the same: the students. I have taught the children of Australia’s wealthiest parents and children whose families receive welfare payments. Students from both camps have impressed me with their critical thinking, eagerness to learn and desire to do great things in the world. Some of the most extraordinary ideas, the most sophisticated analysis and the most passionate debate has taken place in classrooms with leaking roofs and windows that don’t open.

Our public school students have equal potential to that of their private school counterparts. They deserve the same dedicated teachers, resources and individual support. Teachers are ready to help our public school kids reach their potential. If only the premier would do the same.

Elsie Flanagan-O’Neill is a freelance writer.

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