Parents charged for school maintenance

SOUTH Australia is charging parents for maintenance of public school buildings and classrooms in a cost-saving measure.

THE South Australian Labor government is charging parents for maintenance of public school buildings and classrooms in a cost-saving measure.

The move was seized on yesterday by the Liberal opposition, which said it was another blow to struggling families, already being hit with the highest school fees in the nation.

Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond said that in March a memo from the Education Department was sent to principals informing them their "breakdown maintenance" bills would no longer be covered if it was over their budgeted allocation.

The department said in the memo it would now only pay 71 per cent of a school's maintenance payment once it exceeded the prescribed amount.

"Principals are being forced to make up the difference by bleeding struggling South Australian parents for more money," Ms Redmond said.

"Left with no option, they are shifting the cost impost on to parents. It is either that or leaving critical school maintenance incomplete. These are not luxuries -- the sort of maintenance required includes replacing rusted gutters, fixing leaking roofs and salt damp."

Ms Redmond said the funding model was based on a per-student allocation irrespective of the age of the school or its buildings.

"The government is expecting to raise an extra $25 million from parents in school fees alone. Coupled with voluntary fund-raising in schools, the average parent contribution Labor is expecting from public school students is $780 per student."

Ms Redmond said South Australian families were now paying the highest electricity prices, had been hit with a 25 per cent increase in water rates and were set to be hit by the cost-of-living impact of a new carbon tax.

Education Minister Grace Portolesi was on leave and unavailable for comment, but Communities Minister Ian Hunter did not deny the Liberals' claims about the cost impost on families.

However, he said that the MySchool website showed that parental contributions to schooling in South Australia were "comparable to those elsewhere in the country".

"For families experiencing difficulty, there are options available and families should contact their local school regarding those options," Mr Hunter said.