Public school funding 'needs big boost'

Funding for public schools will increase under the Rudd government over the next
four years but will remain below the levels in place when the Howard government came
into office, a report says.
An additional $1.4 billion would be needed to restore funding to levels that applied
when Labor was last in government, a new study has found.
The report, by Sydney University associate professor Jim McMorrow, found the public
schools' share of federal education funding would increase from 35 per cent to 37.1
per cent by 2011-2012.
But the figure is still lower than the 43.1 per cent in place when the coalition won
power in 1996, the report found.
Launching the report, Australian Education Union president Angelo Gavrielatos said
the $3.5 billion increase in funding announced by COAG (Council of Australian
Governments) in November was "a welcome development" but was still insufficient.
"The majority of schools still miss out on what is needed," he told the AEU federal
conference in Melbourne on Friday.
"We should be resourcing our schools to ensure we lift overall student performance
and address underachievement."
Mr Gavrielatos said the federal government was still funding the private sector at
the expense of public schools.
In particular, he said private schools with a significant number of Aboriginal
students would receive seven times more commonwealth funding than public schools
with large numbers of Aboriginal enrolments.
This was despite 90 per cent of Aboriginal students being enrolled at government
schools, Mr Gavrielatos said.
Another $20 million had been allocated by the federal government to fund 2000
Aboriginal school places at elite secondary boarding schools.
"Cherry picking students from their communities is not the answer to closing the
achievement gap," he said.
Mr Gavrielatos also announced the AEU's eight-point plan to improve the education of
Aboriginal students.
The plan, which has not been costed, includes establishing schools, pre-schools and
TAFE colleges in Aboriginal communities.
He said different models could apply in remote communities to other regional or
metropolitan areas.
"What we're talking about is a full-service model," he told reporters.
"Early childhood education, pre-school, schools and vocational education.
"What we know is that in the Northern Territory, thousands of students do not have
access to schools."
Mr Gavrielatos said the plan, which also includes strategies to attract and retain
teachers in difficult-to-staff schools, would require dramatic investment.
"The plight of our indigenous students remains a very pressing issue. It's a cause
for shame."