This was to be the year of a significant school funding uplift, intended to bring hundreds of NSW public schools closer to the minimum Schooling Resource Standard (SRS).
But this will not happen due to changes implemented unilaterally last year by the Federal Government.
Under the new Turnbull funding plan, private schools will be funded by the Commonwealth at 80 per cent of the SRS while public schools will receive only 20 per cent.
As a result of the new Turnbull model 87 per cent of public schools will not be funded to the minimum standard by 2023, making the already complex work of teachers in our system even more demanding and difficult.
By comparison, within the same timeframe, 65 per cent of private schools will be funded above the Schooling Resource Standard.
The Turnbull funding plan delivers a massive $856 million cut to NSW public schools in 2018–19 alone.
The public school system has always done the heavy lifting. This is now even heavier.
Of the $2.2 billion the Turnbull Government will cut from all Australian schools over the next two years, $1.9 billion is to be cut from the public system.
Put simply, the Turnbull plan will mean public schools will never reach the SRS and the existing gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged will continue to grow.
Consistent with 2017 Annual Conference policy, schools funding will continue to be a Federation priority in the lead-up to the next Federal election, which may be called as early as August this year. Federation will continue to work with allied principal, parent and relevant community organisations.
The national schools funding campaign will continue to build on the successful strategies used in recent years across the country with new campaign material and resources being developed for the next phase of the campaign.
There is urgency to this campaign. The work of teachers is made so much more difficult when resources necessary for quality teaching and learning are withheld.
Our campaign demand is straightforward. All public schools must be funded to 100 per cent of the SRS so as to provide all teachers with the resources they need for the tasks at hand.
— Maurie Mulheron, President