Experts agree: school funding reform important and necessary

School funding reform remains an important goal, despite an increasingly confused and complicated political debate, say experts from the Melbourne Graduate School of Education.

The States and Territories have until June 30 to sign up to a new school funding proposal, which is based on the recommendations of the Gonski Review and represents the biggest overhaul of school funding since the Whitlam Government’s reforms in the 1970s. 

The Council of Australian Governments failed to strike a deal on the proposal on April 19 and the Coalition has subsequently suggested it would reverse any reforms if it wins the September Federal Election. 

According to Professor Richard Teese, Director of the Centre for Research on Education Systems, the proposed reforms may not be perfect, but they present the best chance to address the fundamental inequalities of Australia’s school funding system.

“We need funding justice for government schools,” he says. “If we can improve how government schools work and make them more attractive to middle class parents, we can slow the drift to private schooling.”

However, according to Professor Teese, the deal the Gillard Government has struck with the Independent and Catholic sectors will continue to over-resource the private sector and entrench unjust funding relativities.

This deal caters only for around 30 per cent of Australian school students; the remaining 70 per cent are educated in government schools run by the states and territories, with whom a deal is yet to be struck.

“You can’t play politics with some stakeholders and not others,” says Professor Teese. “There hasn’t been enough discussion with the states and territories yet.”

Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow Maxine McKew agrees the Commonwealth’s negotiations with states and territories have not been managed as well as they could have been. She points out the government received the Gonski Review at the end of 2011, and that by delaying its response it has contributed to stakeholders’ frustration and cynicism.

“The delay has never been explained and for the many who care deeply about restoring fairness and lifting academic ambition in our public and low-fee Catholic schools, the folly of arguing all this out in a charged election year is a sore point,” Ms McKew says.

Then there is the issue of funding school reform by cutting university funding – a move Professor Stephen Dinham, Director of Learning and Teaching, describes as “extremely short-sighted and disappointing”.

The proposed cuts to university funding of $2.3bn are the latest in a series of cuts to the sector, which has seen a steady reduction in public funding over the past 25 years.

“Less than 25 per cent of university funding now comes from the government,” says Professor Dinham. “They are trying to improve our school system while cutting funding to the institutions that train teachers. It makes no sense.”

Professor Dinham agrees that providing more funding to government schools is important and should help to close the equity gap, but he suggests the required amounts are substantial given recent cuts to education budgets in a number of jurisdictions. He also points out that an increase in funding alone is not enough.

 “We also need highly trained teachers who can make sure each student meets their potential,” he says. 

The need to focus not just on funding reform, but also how the money is spent, is echoed by Dean of Education Professor Field Rickards, who says it can be easy to lose sight of this amid the increasingly confusing and politicised debate about dollars.

“A strong public education system is a vital part of any civil society; we must guard and strengthen our government system, for the good of everyone. Funding reform is an important part of this,” says Professor Rickards. “However, we also need to prepare teachers to focus on the learning needs of every child in our system."

Ultimately, the experts agree that school funding reform is a necessary part of addressing entrenched disadvantage in Australia’s education system, and giving every child the opportunity to reach their potential. 

 “The bottom line is that more money for public schools is a good thing and will make a difference,” says Professor Teese.

www.education.unimelb.edu.au