Funding for West Australian private schools has increased at almost four times the rate of funding for public schools over a decade, a new analysis of government data has revealed.
The Australian Education Union has for the first time compiled per-student funding information from every school in the state, listed on the My School website.
President Correna Haythorpe said public school funding from both state and federal governments combined had increased by only 5 per cent in 10 years, compared to a near-20 per cent rise for private schools as of 2022, the latest data available.
“This is despite public schools educating far more students with additional needs, such as those from disadvantaged backgrounds,” she said.
“Full funding means well-resourced and well-staffed schools. It means more teachers, more support staff and more intensive support for the students who need it inside and outside the classroom.”
AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe said WA needed a more honest finding agreement. Credit: SMH
Almost 30 per cent of students at the state’s public schools are from the bottom quarter of socio-educational advantage, compared to over 30 per cent in the top quarter attending private schools.
Haythorpe said the recent $1.6 billion funding agreement announced on January 31 should ensure public schools were funded to 100 per cent of the School Resourcing Standard – the estimate of the minimum amount of funding schools need to meet students’ educational needs.
But she said the state government had artificially inflated its contribution by 4 per cent through the inclusion of costs not directly related to the education of students in schools, such as capital depreciation, transport and regulatory costs.
“Public schools need full not fake funding. Fully funding WA public schools is the only way to ensure every child gets the support they need to succeed,” Haythorpe said.
“The schools Expert Panel that reported to education ministers last year said the full funding of public schools is a prerequisite for student learning and wellbeing improvement and is all the more urgent because of the full funding arrangements that already exist in the non-government sector.”
But Jay Pickett, the education business services deputy director general at WA’s Education Department, said the 4 per cent still helped provide quality education.
He said it was also allocated towards capital depreciation associated with building new public schools and expanding existing ones to meet student enrolment growth across the state.
“Funding for public schools continues to grow each year to ensure it keeps pace with salary increases, changes in student enrolments and loadings based on student needs,” Pickett said.
“The Statement of Intent agreed by the Australian and Western Australian governments on January 31 takes support for our public schools to the next level, expressing a commitment to deliver full and fair funding of the state’s public school system by 2026.”
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