Perth’s most over-funded private schools revealed

West Australian private schools, including one of the country’s richest, will be over-funded by millions of dollars over the next five years, a new report from Australia’s leading education union has revealed.

Nationally, private schools will be over-funded to the tune of almost $3 billion to 2028, while public schools will remain underfunded up to $40 billion, according to the Australian Education Union’s report How School Funding Fails Public Schools, written by education economist Adam Rorris.

In WA, multiple private schools will be funded by the federal government well over the schooling resource standard over the next five years, including Hale School which the union states is already one of the richest in Australia.

But public schools will remain underfunded.

The report revealed that on average, each private school student in WA is currently over-funded by $491 above the minimum requirements, and public school students are underfunded by $1793.

The funding shortfall in WA for public schools in 2023 alone is $526 million, while the over-funding for private schools equates to $73 million.

Although private schools will gradually be funded less over the next five years, public school funding will also continue to decline.

By 2028, while over-funding of private school students in WA will drop to $96 per person, each public school student will be receiving $2108 below what they need.

“If governments can afford to over-fund private schools by hundreds of millions each year, they can afford to fund every public school to their own minimum standard,” union president Correna Haythorpe said.

“Full funding of public schools is the only way to ensure every child gets every opportunity to succeed. That investment will give teachers more time and support to meet the diverse and complex needs of their students.

“It will also give them the confidence that they can make a real difference without burning out with unsustainable workloads.”

A new report has revealed the private schools in WA which are being over-funded the most.

The report states that the more money spent per student, the better the educational outcomes.

“Public schools systems have been working from a position of extreme underfunding for more than two decades,” it reads.

“What is urgently needed is a commitment from governments to end the funding crisis.”

Curtin University School of Education senior lecturer Brad Gobby said the introduction of the schooling resource standard was meant to ensure a minimum of funding per student based on need regardless of school sector.

“Nationally, the funding of private schools has risen at twice the rate of public schools. In WA, funding for public school students has not kept up with funding for private school students,” Dr Gobby said.

“The growing inequality in funding per student is unacceptable. On this matter of schools funding, governments and politicians have a tendency to weasel their way with excuses.

“They are also effectively lobbied by the powerful private school sector. Parents of public school students should be kicking up a stink.

“Public school funding must keep up with the true cost of educating young people. That funding should go into the classroom to directly impact on students’ opportunities and experiences.”

Curtin University School of Education lecturer Matthew Sinclair, who completed his PhD on school funding, said the fact every public school student in WA received $1793 less in funding than they were entitled to was “alarming.”

“A recent review of public education in Western Australia led by Dr Carmen Lawrence laid bare the growing pressures public schools are facing as a result of the underfunding,” Dr Sinclair said.

“They range from increased teacher workloads to a lack of support when teaching students with complex needs, which Dr Lawrence and colleagues show has many public school teachers at breaking point.”

Sinclair said discussions on funding policy reform and the structures that needed to be put in place to ensure every WA student received a fair go, regardless of the school they attend, needed to be a priority for 2024 for politicians.

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Key points

The Schooling Resource Standard is an estimate of how much total public funding a school requires to meet its students’ educational needs.

The federal government funds at least 20 per cent of each public school’s SRS and 80 per cent of each private school. The state government funds 20 per cent and 80 per cent respectively.

However, many private schools receive more than the 80 per cent required from the federal government.

The Australian Education Union claims only 1.3 per cent of public schools are resourced to the SRS, compared to 98 per cent of private schools.