Parents and school leaders from Catholic Schools gathered at St Joseph’s School, Tranmere last night to call on the government to offer fair funding for every school child.
Similar gatherings have been held around the country as parents grow concerned about whether the government’s new funding proposal will deliver funding fairness for their children.
The Leader of the Opposition, Hon Bill Shorten MP, attended the event. He was joined by Labor Senator for South Australia, Hon Penny Wong.
Addressing the crowd gathered, Bruno Vieceli, Interim Director, Catholic Education South Australia, called on the government to fund Catholic schools in South Australia using a funding model that is fair.
He said that in order to this the government needed to:
1. Review its funding methodology including:
2. Preserve the autonomy of Catholic Education as a system of schools
3. Ensure students with disability receive the funding they are entitled to and which enables them to fully access the curriculum
4. Engage in timely and appropriate consultation with the Catholic sector.
Bill Shorten took questions from the floor and presented Labor’s response. He acknowledged that Catholic schools have families from all backgrounds and questioned perceptions which suggested all parents could afford to pay higher fees. He also said that Catholic schools should retain their autonomy as they best understand the real needs in their school communities. He acknowledged that Catholic schools had been working with a needs based funding model for many years.
Bruno Vieceli assured those gathered that Catholic Education South Australia will “continue to engage in robust conversations both through the National Catholic Education Commission and directly with the Federal Government and our elected representatives to ensure students in Catholic schools South Australia are not disadvantaged.“
“Catholic Education South Australia is bi-partisan and will also look to organise a further meeting in the near future with a Federal government representative.”
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) Education Team's new Cultural Artist in Residence program featured as a best practice example across the state at a recent State Ministerial Committee.
