The best chance of achieving the objectives of the schools funding campaign is for Federation members to speak to parents in their school community on return to school,Federation President Maurie Mulheron told Annual Conference.
With a federal election possible as early as September, Mr Mulheron said: “These conversations can’t be put off to a later time — the time is right upon us.”
“We’ve got to go back in Term 3 and ensure that we are speaking directly to our school communities and it has to be not just once, not just twice, it’s got to be every single day — these conversations have got to be the norm, whether it be staff meetings, morning tea, a lunchtime announcement, something in people’s pigeonhole, a Federation meeting, attending a P&C meeting —not just once, every P&C meeting. We’ve got to organise other meetings and link up with other schools.”
He reminded the teaching profession that a survey of parents placed local teachers as the most trusted source for information on school funding.
“In other words, you are the people they turn to for information, so that’s so important that we build a campaign talking around your school, your students’ needs,” Mr Mulheron said.
Mr Mulheron said the Turnbull Government must be defeated at the federal election.
“And we’ve got to make sure that we elect a government that will honour in full their commitment to the public school system.”
Annual Conference Delegates pledged the union to “continue to campaign to achieve its long-held campaign objectives aimed at ensuring governments fund an education system that reflects the individual needs, diversity and aspirations of the country’s citizens”.
The Annual Conference decision on schools funding reaffirmed Federation’s commitment to the Australian Education Union’s Fair Funding Now! campaign.
The campaign’s objectives are:
- reversal of the Turnbull Government’s $1.9 billion cuts cut to public schools for 2018-19
- all public schools to be funded to 100 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) by 2023
- a capital fund for public schools, to help meet rising enrolment growth and to ensure all students are educated in classrooms and learning spaces where their needs can be met
- more support for students with disability.