Fears federal government is taking control

PROPOSALS to enshrine wide-ranging formulas in law for the Gonski education reform is hardening opposition to Labor's plan.

PROPOSALS to enshrine wide-ranging and detailed funding formulas in legislation for the Gonski education changes is hardening state and non-government school opposition to Labor's six-year plan.

After seeing the draft legislation for Julia Gillard's National Plan for School Improvement last Friday, some state governments, and independent and Catholic schools are alarmed that the commonwealth is effectively taking control of schools.

There are concerns the extent of embedding funding formulas in law, which are untested and may have unintended consequences for non-government schools, means they can't be changed without an act of parliament.

The Catholic education system is also opposed to a fundamental change from block funding to giving the education minister the power to approve individual funding for schools. Ministerial power would extend to the point of being able to require the Catholic system to amend payments to specific schools.

State officials at Friday's briefing at Melbourne airport were told to sign gag orders preventing discussion of the draft legislation, but some refused to comply.

The Independent Schools Council of Australia has complained directly to the Prime Minister about fears the funding formulas will mean cuts and asked for certainty for next year's planning.

The government is briefing non-government school associations in a bid to assure them that no school will lose money. It is also emphasising that it will look individually at schools in exceptional circumstances and guarantee they won't be disadvantaged. It has also developed an appeal mechanism.

Yesterday the NSW Liberal government, the only state to agree to the Gonski changes, asked the Gillard government, on behalf of the non-government sector, to clarify the new funding.

Some other state governments are also alarmed at the extent of federal control of their school systems.

Western Australia's Liberal Premier Colin Barnett has already complained that for next year his government would only get $7 million in extra funds but would have to cede much control. And local analysis suggests thee state's system of independent state schools giving principals greater power would also suffer.

The conservative governments of Queensland and Victoria have also expressed concern about uncertainty of funding for the non-government school sector and the interference of the commonwealth in state school systems.

The National Catholic Education Commission and the Independent Schools Council of Australia have both complained to Ms Gillard about the "unsatisfactory situation" with the proposed changes and expressed fears "there will be a significant reduction in total funding for independent schools".

Ms Gillard as reassured the non-government sector that no school will be worse off under her plan through to 2019, but all schools would lose $16.2 billion if Tony Abbott were elected.

The extent of the enshrining of the untested formulas in legislation is seen by some as a Labor attempt to "Abbott-proof" the changes should the Coalition win the September federal election.

Christian School Australia, which consists mainly of low fee non-government schools, was briefed on the funding changes yesterday. Chief executive Stephen O'Doherty said they were still supportive of the Gonski principles and some of the uncertainty in his members' mind had been removed by the briefing.