Tebbutt ignores central schools’ needs

Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt isn't giving central schools the fair go they deserve, write WAYNE WEBBER and BRIAN BUCKLEY.

After an 18 month wait and several reminders, a reply to the issues raised by the Federation's Central Schools Committee with Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt was finally received by the Federation on November 20, 2006. The Minister dismissed any increase in the allocation of careers advisers and teacher-librarians in central schools. She wrote "their funding would require diversion of resources from other educational areas".

The Minister also failed to address the issue of parity of release time for primary and secondary executive in central schools. In a central school, an assistant principal and a head teacher can work alongside each other, performing similar roles yet the assistant principal has much less release time to do the job. Deputy principals primary also don't receive the same release time as deputy principals secondary. (Current anomalies in salary between assistant principal, head teacher and PP6 as well as deputy principal primary, deputy principal high and PP5 will be resolved during the life of the current award.)

It seems that central schools are not an issue for Minister Tebbutt. The funds required to enable these much needed betterments for central schools wouldn't even rate as a small drop in the NSW Budget bucket.

Central schools provide more than education for our young in often small, remote and these days, drought stricken communities.

The schools are also the heart of the community and the hub around which so many community activities and events occur.

Minister Tebbutt has a responsibility to nurture these unique schools and resource them adequately so that they can continue to serve their communities through these increasingly difficult times.

With regard to facilities standards, it also appears from the Minister's response that central schools continue to be regarded as primary schools with a secondary annex.

While the Minister cited "extensive user consultation" and a modification of "the primary and secondary facilities standards to better suit Central Schools", there are no central schools facilities listed in the menu of the Department's Schools Facilities Standards CD.

The Department published a Central Schools Facilities Standard in 2004. It is the same as a primary school Code 14 (which has 11 to 17 classrooms).

Under both codes, a school would receive a library where the main area is 163 square metres and a staffroom of 48 square metres. A high school of the same size would receive a library of 240 square metres.

This means that the needs of senior students; community members (central school libraries are often the only library in town); the need to house a range of library resources catering for K-12 and beyond; as well as the physical size and number of secondary students in a central school; have been equated to the needs of primary students.

Our central schools, their students, teachers and communities deserve a better deal.

Wayne Webber is a Country Organiser. Brian Buckley teaches at Lockhart Central School and is a member of the Central Schools Committee.

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