Fairfax has released ‘secret’ modelling showing how the Turnbull Government’s revamped “Gonski 2.0” needs-based school funding plan would “rip” money from Catholic schools to give to public schools:
The Department of Education data shows the country’s public schools would receive a $4 billion windfall over the next decade if the Turnbull government’s school funding changes pass while Catholic schools would be $4.6 billion worse off than under the current legislation.
The leaked modelling examines how public, Catholic and private schools around the country would be affected by the Senate’s decision to block or support the new funding model.
It shows Catholic schools would lose $705 million over the next four years if the new model is passed while public schools would gain $693 million.
The private school sector would see little change, picking up just an extra $12 million over the next four years…
The data helps explain the ferocious response from the Catholic school sector to the government’s new funding model even though its funding is increasing overall.
National Catholic Education Commission executive director Christian Zahra said: “Minister Birmingham and his Coalition colleagues need to think long and hard about if they want this attack on Catholic education to be their legacy”…
According to the modelling, the government’s changes would save the budget $771 million over a decade because of the hit to Catholic schools.
Last year’s report, entitled Uneven Playing Field: The State of Australia’s Schools, projected that the original botched Gonski settings would have seen non-government school students – and those in Catholic schools in particular – receiving greater taxpayer funding than average public school students by 2020:
The fact that Gonski 2.0 is seeking to redirect some funding from these privileged Catholic schools to public schools, saving the Budget billions in the process, seems entirely sensible, represents good policy, and should be supported.
