Three of Australia’s wealthiest private schools got double the federal funding they were entitled to last year, according to an article in the Guardian.
The article covers three Sydney schools; Northern Beaches Christian school, St Augustine’s College and MLC school. According to the article, the schools “…were funded at 171%, 160% and 158% of the SRS respectively, about double the 80% they should have received from the commonwealth. That equated to about $13.6m of overfunding in a single year.”
And it’s not just those three schools; the article goes on:
Figures outlined in a Senate estimates briefing released under freedom of information legislation show four in 10 (1,150) private schools were overfunded by the commonwealth in excess of the agreed 80% level last year, to the tune of $2.5bn.
And all this is while “…public schools’ total funding – from the commonwealth and states and territories – averaged just 92% of the SRS.”
That’s why we need to tell the politicians – this must stop! School funding should be fair and equitable, and all public schools should be funded to 100% of the SRS.
See our funding campaign page for how you can have your say.
