Parents, teachers, principals and local communities across NSW will hold school hall meetings this month urging the Albanese Government to honour its election promise to fully fund public schools.
The school hall meetings will take place across the state in week 6 (November 18–22), bringing public school teachers and parents together to share their stories of what their school communities need, demand that public schools receive full funding according to the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) and send a message to the Albanese Government that public schools will be taking action ahead of the next federal election.
The decision to ramp up Federation’s ongoing For Every Child campaign was taken at Federation Council’s meeting on November 1–2, which resolved that “the Albanese Government has failed to accept its funding responsibility as recommended by the Gonski Report,” short-changing millions of public schoolkids, their families, teachers and communities.
Governments have failed to fund all public schools in NSW to the minimum level of funding needed to meet students’ needs. Meanwhile, every private school in the state has received at least 100 per cent of its minimum SRS funding. In many cases, wealthy private schools have received millions in federal government funding over and above their needs.
NSW public schools face a funding gap of $1.9 billion just this year alone. NSW Department of Education analysis shows that over the next four years, the federal government will provide $24.2 billion to the state’s 970 non-government schools, but only $14.3 billion to the state’s 2216 public schools.
Ahead of the school hall meetings, Federation President Henry Rajendra urged the Albanese Government to “step up” and give public schoolkids the support and resources they deserve.
“All we want is the best outcomes for our children,” Mr Rajendra said. “No matter how poor or wealthy they are, no matter where they’re located throughout the country, our children matter. We want Anthony Albanese to join us in that commitment to ensure that the nation’s public school students get the best chance in life.
“It’s a simple plea: Prime Minister, stand up for all students, not just some.”
For more information about their local school hall meeting, Federation members should contact their school Federation Representative. For support and resources to organise their school-hall meeting, Federation Representatives and school principals are encouraged to reach out to their local Federation Organiser.