Schools may be in for a pleasant surprise when the Federal Government unveils the 2018 Budget on May 8.
Acting Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, said that “on May 8, as on December 25, [Treasurer] Scott ‘Santa Claus’ Morrison’ will be announcing some goodies.”
With the approach of the 2018 Budget, Australia’s most needy schools are hoping these “goodies” include improved funding.
However, Morrison quickly moved to downplay McCormack’s comments, pouring cold water on expectations of an imminent school funding splash.
“I can tell Australians, I am not Santa Claus,” the Treasurer told reporters at Parliament House in Canberra.
“There won't be a Christmas in May – and the Grinch I don't think will be making an appearance either.”
Ray Collins, acting executive director of the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC), said the Catholic sector will be closely watching the upcoming budget to see whether the Federal Government is serious about establishing a fairer funding model.
“The Federal Government’s so-called new era of fair funding model has meant that over 500 Catholic schools lose funding in 2018, compared to their actual 2017 Commonwealth allocation,” Collins said.
“Catholic systems will lose $250m over the two years 2018 and 2019 compared to the funding they would have been allocated under Labor’s Gonski 1.0 funding arrangements.”
At the same time, said Collins, the NCEC has learned that over-funded Independent schools will transition down to their new levels over 10 years, while equivalent schools in Catholic systems have had their funding reduced immediately in 2018, leaving them short-changed by over $1bn over the next decade.
“Across Australia, hundreds of thousands of families have students in a Catholic school. We are the biggest school system after the government sector by far, and we certainly expect the Commonwealth government to address these inequities,” he said.
Collins said Catholic school communities expect action in the Budget on four key priorities.
“We expect the forward estimates to show the government is serious when it talks about needs-based funding and is prepared to act on recommendations of the final report of the National School Resourcing Board and replace the fatally-flawed school socio-economic status, or SES, score system,” Collins said.
Collins said the NCEC also expects to find “clear indications” that the Federal Government is looking at fair and accurate measures of parental capacity to contribute that gives the Catholic sector a genuine measure of non-government school needs.
The NCEC is also hoping that forward estimates will address the disparity in transition agreements which Collins said leaves Catholic schools $1bn worse off.
“We hope the forward estimates will address the recommendations from the Halsey Report of the Independent Review into Regional, Rural and Remote Education which argues for urgent funding support from federal and state governments if the significant needs of students in these areas are to be seriously addressed,” he said.