Teachers on collision course with state government over school funding
A showdown is looming between Victorian teachers and the Allan government over school funding after the education union described a decision to delay money needed to deliver the Gonski reforms by three years as a 'disaster for public school staff and students'.
Australian Education Union Victorian branch president Justin Mullaly said the revelation the Allan government had secretly delayed its commitment from 2028 to 2031 and, in the process, stripped $2.4 billion out of public schools, underscored the widening gap in teacher pay and staffing levels between Victoria and other states.
'We are the lowest-funded schools in the country, and we are the lowest-paid teachers in the country,' Mullaly said. 'Victoria has to be well and truly on the way to getting to that original commitment by 2028.
'Otherwise, it just won't happen. That is going to be a disaster for public school staff and students.'
Victoria previously had a publicly stated target of fully funding its share of the Gonski school funding reforms by 2028. This requires the state to provide government schools 75 per cent of the total funding they are allocated under a needs-based model knows as the Schooling Resource Standard.
The federal government has agreed to provide the remaining 25 per cent once the states reach this benchmark.
Confidential documents seen by this masthead show that in March 2024, in the lead-up to last year's state budget, the Victorian government abandoned its commitment and, under a revised timeline, won't fully fund public schools until 2031.
This means that, between this year and 2031, Victorian schools will receive $2.4 billion less in state government funding than they otherwise would have. They will also receive less money from the Commonwealth.
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