The NSW Teachers Federation welcomes the announcement from NSW Labor to inject $2.7 billion in recurrent funding into the state’s public schools if elected at the upcoming March election.
The announcement also comes with an unprecedented commitment to ensure NSW becomes the first state to fully deliver 100 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS), which is the funding level required to meet the learning needs of all students.
“This announcement will allow teachers and school leaders to provide the resources needed to better meet the individual learning needs of almost 800,000 public school students throughout the public school system,” said NSW Teachers Federation President Maurie Mulheron.
“The commitment has the potential to change lives,” Mr Mulheron said.
“NSW public schools have been below the minimum Schooling Resource Standard for too long and with no previous guarantee of reaching 100 per cent of the SRS. This is a significant commitment from NSW Labor.”
“Teachers, principals, parents and the wider community have campaigned for many years in the pursuit of a fully-funded public school system. This announcement represents a significant step towards closing achievement gaps in our schools and unlocking the potential we know exists in our classrooms.”
“NSW has some of the most over-funded private schools in the country, many currently receiving well in excess of their legislated funding amounts. It is encouraging, therefore, to see the diverse needs of public schools recognised,” Mr Mulheron said.
“Clearly, the challenge for theBerejiklian Government now is to also find a pathway to fund public schools to the nationally agreed Schooling Resource Standard. The decision last week by the NSW Coalition to gift $500 million of capital funding to already over-funded private schools cannot be justified. This funding should have been used towards lifting the NSW public school system to the Schooling Resource Standard.”
“At a federal level, the Morrison Government’s decision to cut $14 billion and fund only up to 20 per cent of a public school student’s learning needs highlights a remaining problem with schools funding,” Mr Mulheron said.
“The actions of the Morrison Government have resulted in public school students being underfunded in NSW. Our federal Fair Funding Now! campaign will continue to highlight failings of the federal government,” Mr Mulheron said.
“This NSW ALP announcement today builds on the commitment the ALP has made at a federal level. A fully-funded public education system is the birth-right of every child and voters in both state and federal elections now have a clear choice on which major party is best placed to deliver for public education.”
