Ipswich Grammar School received $2.8 million in JobKeeper payments in 2020 with principal Richard Morrison getting a pay rise

A top Ipswich school said the millions paid to it by the federal government protected hundreds of jobs, but the school’s income also increased and the headmaster received a pay rise last year.

Ipswich Grammar School said the $2.8 million it received through JobKeeper payments from the federal government were needed to save jobs.

An elite Ipswich school received $2.8 million from the federal government last year through the scrapped JobKeeper scheme despite its income rising and its headmaster receiving a pay rise.

The city’s federal MP is urging the government to fill the gaps left behind when the program was dropped four months ago and slammed JobKeeper as a “blunt instrument” with “anomalies”.

Ipswich Grammar School says the payments ensured “hundreds of local residents” kept their jobs.

Ipswich Grammar School headmaster/CEO Richard Morrison was paid $565,000 in 2020.

The school’s income from tuition and boarding fees dropped to $13.3 million last year from $13.9 million in 2019.

Headmaster and CEO Richard Morrison was paid $565,000 in 2020, an increase from the $539,000 he received in 2019.

Donations increased last year to $598,000 from the $208,000 it received in 2019 and the total amount of government grants and contributions increased to $14 million in 2020 from $9.8 million.

The school’s total income for 2020 sat at $29.7 million, up from $26.7 million the year prior.

Employee expenses rose to $16.5 million in 2020 from $15.6 million in 2019 despite the number of full-time equivalent staff numbers dropping by three.

IGS’ total expenses jumped from $26.3 million in 2019 to $27.8 million last year.

Its cash and cash equivalents increased to $8.3 million in 2020, up from $4 million the year prior, and its current assets rose from $6.3 million to $9.7 million.

The school’s total equity sat at $62 million according to its 2020 annual report and it made a $1.8 million surplus last year, up from $1.7 million in 2019.

“Like many businesses around the country, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is ongoing for our school,” an IGS spokeswoman said.

“Ipswich Grammar School was eligible for and received funds from the federal government’s JobKeeper payment scheme which provided a temporary subsidy to businesses significantly affected by the pandemic.

Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School did not receive payments through JobKeeper.

“These payments helped protect us against the risk of increased costs, increase of financial assistance offered to families and the challenges associated with a reduction in our International student program.

“Importantly these payments ensured we kept hundreds of local residents employed.

“During a time of great unrest and stress these people came to work every day and continued to deliver quality education to our boys and provide assistance to their parents, many of whom were essential workers during this time and assisted in our state’s and our country’s response to Covid-19.”

None of the city’s other top private schools received payments through the scheme.

An Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School spokeswoman confirmed it did not, as did a spokeswoman from St Edmund’s College.

There was no sign of JobKeeper payments in the 2020 annual reports for St Mary’s College and West Moreton Anglican College.

“We were not eligible, we did not apply and we didn’t receive anything,” a St Edmund’s spokeswoman said.

Blair MP Shayne Neumann said he did not know the circumstances of IGS and did not want to comment on the school’s situation.

But he slammed the government’s handling of JobKeeper and said the current system was not providing enough support for businesses during lockdowns.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese with Blair MP Shayne Neumann.

“(JobKeeper) was a blunt instrument and there were anomalies,” he said.

“The government mismanaged it and we estimate that JobKeeper was overpaid in excess of $15 billion.

“There’s real gaps in the current scheme put forward by the government.

“What’s happening at the moment is that we need some certainty for businesses and some workers to what they’re facing.

“They brought it to an end prematurely. There’s no proper replacement scheme. All we’ve got is a dog’s breakfast which they keep chopping and changing all the time.

“There’s a lot of questions marks about the current scheme. The government needs a new scheme to put in place not the piecemeal they’ve got at the moment.”

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the current disaster payment system is rolling out faster than JobKeeper and it was more suitable for the current situation months on from the height of the pandemic.

Read more stories by Lachlan McIvor here.

Originally published as Ipswich Grammar School received $2.8 million in JobKeeper payments in 2020 with principal Richard Morrison getting a pay rise