In response to ‘Gonski 2.0’ funding reforms passing through the senate on Thursday night, June 22, the diocese which looks after St Patrick’s, St Joseph’s and La Salle schools, has released a statement saying impacts of the reforms are currently ‘unclear’.
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“The specifics of the funding reform remain unclear, making it difficult to determine the exact impact on schools in our Diocese, due to lack of clarity around the Government’s model,” reads the statement issued by the Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst.
The National Education Commission Director, Christian Zahra, came out much stronger calling the funding package “flawed” and “rushed”.
“While the cross-bench Senators were consulted, educational leaders, schools and families were locked out of a process that has now put in place a flawed 10-year school funding plan,” Mr Zahra said.
Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst (CEDB) Director, Mrs Jenny Allen said the diocese supports needs-based funding.
“This reinforces the funding methods currently in place to ensure the ongoing viability of schools in smaller communities and those with lower socioeconomic levels,” she said.
“It is disappointing that the Government failed to hold collaborative consultation with key stakeholders prior to legislating the changes.”
A spokesperson for the Bathurst diocese said they do not know how much funding schools within it will receive but the diocese expects funding increases according to government promises.
The federal government’s school funding calculator, released to show estimates of funding under the Gonski 2.0 plan, showed increased federal government funding (above) for St Patrick’s, St Joseph’s and La Salle Academy students.
However, the calculator was taken offline on June 23 to be updated.
As the NSW Catholic Education Commission is the body that determines amounts of national and state funding sent to the diocese (not the government) and the diocese in turn allocates funding to its schools, the online calculator could have only been a rough guess of national funding to be received by particular schools.
“Each diocese, in turn then allocates this funding, as well as the fees paid by parents, to best meet student needs in each of our schools,” CEDB director Mrs Allen said.
“CEDB is committed to maintaining a low-cost fee structure, ensuring all families have access to affordable schooling for their children.”
In May, Lithgow High School principal Ann Caro similarly said the details of Gonski 2.0 were ‘hazy’. She said she would likely find out how much funding the school will receive in 2018 in term 3.
