REVEALED: The Coast’s richest and poorest schools

The principal of the Sunshine Coast’s poorest school has revealed the secret to their success despite earning the lowest income in the region.

Eden Boyd and Geoff Egan

3 min read

October 14, 2019 - 12:00AM

Sunshine Coast

Don't miss out on the headlines from Sunshine Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.

>> Cashed-up or cash-strapped: Incomes for each school revealed

THE principal of the Sunshine Coast's poorest school has revealed the secret to their success despite earning the lowest income in the region.

An independent analysis of school financial records from the MySchool website has shown the massive amount of money some schools make every year, and how little on which some schools scrape by.

The figures revealed Eudlo State School had the lowest gross income of any school on the Sunshine Coast, making just $2.9 million over the three year period.

Principal Ruth Machen said "no school would turn down more money", yet didn't feel the students were missing out on a quality education.

"It's a very well funded school in terms of technology and staff," she said.

"We have a small school and a small team of staff but that means we have less turnover.

"Compared to other schools I've been in, it's a very well resourced school."

Eudlo State School students Olivia, 8, Sophie, 10, and Annelise Taylor, 7. Photo: Patrick Woods

She said an active Parents and Citizens Association was vital in fundraising for the school's facilities and various programs.

"We definitely rely on the P and C to provide those extra things, but the P and C in our school community are so active and generous," she said.

"They've just been amazing."

Above all, Ms Machen said the school's staff was the bedrock of their success.

"Our teachers and teacher aides are really outstanding," she said.

"Their knowledge of child development is amazing.

"You can be in the flashiest classrooms with everyone having a computer, but it's the connections those teachers make with the child that count.

"They're really good people with their hearts in the right place, who know kids and know education so well.

"They have that balance of a nurturing environment while striving for success."

At the other end of the funding spectrum, the Sunshine Coast's richest school raked in more than $99.7 million in three years.

Chancellor State College in Sippy Downs had a higher gross income than any other school in the Sunshine Coast region, according to financial records from the three most recently available years.

The region's second richest school was Matthew Flinders Anglican College, in Buderim, which had a gross income of $93.3 million.

The school with the third highest gross income was Meridan State College, in Sippy Downs, which made $91.9 million.

The figures included all fees, charges and parental contributions as well as State and Federal Government funding and any other private sources over the 2015, 2016 and 2017 years.

They did not include any deductions for capital works or debt servicing.

The analysis did not include special schools or schools that did not have complete financial data in MySchool for one or more of 2015, 2016 or 2017.

Meanwhile, the region's school most expensive school was Matthew Flinders Anglican College in Buderim where the average amount parents had to fork out in fees, charges and contributions in 2017 was $14,547.

Sunshine Coast Grammar School, in Forest Glen, had the Sunshine Coast region's second highest average parental contributions with $12,364.

The school with the third highest parental contributions was St Andrew's Anglican College, in Peregian Springs, where the average contribution was $12,343.

Region's richest schools

Chancellor State College: $99.7 million

Matthew Flinders Anglican College: $93.3 million

Meridan State College: $91.9 million

St Andrew's Anglican College: $82.5 million

Sunshine Coast Grammar School: $79.4 million

Mountain Creek State High School: $77.3 million

Nambour State College: $64.9 million

Kawana Waters State College: $63.1 million

Unity College: $61.2 million

Noosa District State High School: $57.6 million

Region's poorest schools