Some schools will struggle under funding reform

There will be winners and losers in the Department of Education’s new school funding model according to the Community and Public Sector Union/Civil Service Association.

Branch assistant secretary Rikki Hendon said the model was only a redistribution of current resources and not an injection of much-needed funding following last year’s massive cuts to the department.

“There will definitely be winners and losers in this new model, with the department taking from some schools to give to others,” Ms Hendon said.

“The principles underpinning the model may have merit, but implementing it without increased funding will actually leave some schools worse off.”

Ms Hendon said the new model would roughly allocate an additional $40 million to early years education and be taken directly from secondary schools.

“We know that 126 schools will lose between $100,000 and $250,000 per annum and that some schools could lose as much as $1.25 million over a five-year period.

“It is hard to imagine that cuts of this magnitude will not have a massive impact on course delivery in these schools.”

Implementation of the new model will require schools to not only deal with the changes to resourcing but to manage their own one-line budgets, which until now, was only required of Independent Public Schools.

“Principals, registrars and business managers are being expected to adapt to the new funding model and learn to manage a one-line budget, as well as prepare for Year 7s to transition to secondary school in 2015.

“We fear that schools have not been given sufficient time to adequately plan and prepare for such immense change, and that they will struggle to manage the additional workload that accompanies it without more resources.”

Ms Hendon was also concerned that workers would be redeployed and possibly made redundant as a result of the change.

“We still don’t know exactly how the new funding and resource model will play out in individual schools.

“Our members need certainty about what changes will mean for them and their schools.

“We urge the minister and the department to clarify all of the implications of these changes as soon as possible.”

The union represents business managers, registrars, school officers, library officers, laboratory technicians and IT officers in the schools.

​