The Victorian Government should unequivocally confirm when it will reach 75% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) funding for government schools, a report tabled in the Legislative Council today has recommended.
The report, from the Legislative Council’s Legal and Social Issues Committee, also calls on both the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments to compensate public schools for “years of underfunding”.
The Committee inquired into the impact of the Government’s decision to delay increases to Victoria’s public school funding.
The uncertainty surrounds the fact that the Victorian Government has delayed raising the state’s public school funding to 75% of the SRS several times. The Committee found evidence suggesting an early agreement with the Commonwealth to reach full funding by 2028 had been delayed to 2031. However, the current agreement states public schools will now not be fully funded until 2034.
Committee Chair, Joe McCracken said the lack of clarity had created uncertainty for schools and their communities. Further, the effects of years of underfunding remain ongoing.
“Public schools have been forced to delay improvements to staffing and infrastructure,” he said.
“Providing additional funding would not only help address these ongoing effects but also send a clear signal that this underfunding should not have occurred.”
The report makes six findings and five recommendations.
These include a three-part recommendation that the Victorian Government:
- determine the amount by which it has underfunded government schools since signing the bilateral agreement with the Commonwealth in 2018; and
- compensate the government school system in Victoria appropriately; and
- advocate to the Commonwealth to also compensate the amount it has underfunded the government school system in Victoria since 2014.
Mr McCracken said that the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments had a responsibility to correctly fund public education by addressing the years of underfunding.
“This is the Committee’s second inquiry into public education this Parliament, reflecting the importance of government schools to Victorians and growing community concern about funding levels,” Mr McCracken said.
“Our teachers and students deserve the certainty and resources needed to deliver the high-quality education every young Victorian should receive.”
The report is available to read and download on the Committee’s website.
