Half a billion snatched from our schools

Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 127 No 3, 14 April 2022, page no. 11

The Morrison government’s 2022-2023 federal budget has slashed more than half a billion dollars from state schools. 

Close analysis of the budget papers by the Australian Education Union shows that the Morrison government has cut funding for state schools by $559 million over the next three years, while increasing funding for private schools by $2.6 billion over the forward estimates.

The cuts to public schools’ funding from the 2021-22 budget are:

• $139 million in 2022-23
• $193.9 million in 2023-24
• $226.9 million in 2024-25.
   

In sharp contrast, the increases to private schools’ funding are:

• $616.8 million in 2022-23
• $690 million in 2023-24
• $715.6 million in 2024-25
• $537.1 million in 2025-26.
   

Correna Haythorpe, Australian Education Union Federal President, said: “This savage cut to state schools was hidden in the detail. PM Morrison hoped principals, teachers, support staff and parents wouldn’t notice. They will.”

“PM Morrison’s blatant favouritism for the private school sector comes at a great cost for public schools and their students, staff and parents.

 “It is public schools that are witnessing booming enrolment growth and have the greatest need for capital spending on new buildings and state of the art facilities. It is public schools that need additional funding for more teachers, support staff, smaller class sizes and learning programs for students.

“It is public schools that provide a high-quality education for every child regardless of their background or circumstances. Yet PM Morrison has shamelessly shirked his responsibility to ensure that state schools have the resources they need to cater for their students.

“We urgently need the next federal government to address the deep inequality in state school funding, remove the 20 per cent cap on federal funding, guarantee a minimum of at least 100 per cent of the schooling resource standard and establish a capital works fund.

“Anything less fails Australia’s students.”

There is no funding allocated for capital works in state schools in this year’s federal budget either, or any additional funding allocated for preschools.

And as for TAFE, it seems that the Morrison government does not see the nation’s worsening skills crisis as a priority, with the federal budget failing to mention TAFE at all. While it did announce the “Australian Apprentices Incentives Program”, this will do nothing to address the structural challenges with the national skills pipeline, and certainly does not prioritise TAFE.

In its pre-budget submission, the AEU made the following recommendations, which it says the next federal government must urgently address:

• a minimum 70 per cent of all government VET funding to TAFE
• a minimum of 100 per cent of the schooling resource standard for state schools
• establishment of a capital fund for state schools to help meet rising enrolment growth and infrastructure needs
• universal access to preschool for the two years before school.