The Telegraph reported on June 25 that NSW's wealthiest private schools have seen their revenues increase by tens of millions over the past five years, while nearly 200 public schools have lost about $90 million over the same period.
According to The Telegraph's analysis of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) financial data, a total of 168 primary, secondary and joint schools (of which 118 are public schools) saw their total annual income shrink between 2018 and 2022.
Narraweena的Karuna Montessori School的收入减少最为严重，下降了78%。
Queanbeyan's Karabar High revenue has seen a 40 per cent drop in revenue, with an average loss of more than $7,500 per student.
For some smaller, regional schools in NSW, declining enrolment is an important factor in determining budgets. Austinmer Public School, located in Illawarra, saw a 36% drop in total revenue.
Gresford Public School, 40 kilometres northwest of Singleton, has seen its total income drop by nearly 20 per cent, and to supplement the lack of government funding, parents are raising funds to support a STEAM specialist to teach one day a week.
(Image source: The Telegraph)
Even in the greater Sydney area, students at Erskineville Public School have been affected. In 5 years, the school's total revenue has decreased by 11%, with an average loss of nearly $400 per student.
Mum Lauren Thomas, who has two daughters (Alfred at 8 and Florence at 7), says the "extra opportunities" at school have disappeared. "Last year the school also participated in the Schools Spectacular, but this year they said they couldn't do it." Another parent, Danielle Goncalves, said she was concerned that the school "could lose good teachers."
At the same time, the Telegraph also revealed that the 20 richest schools in the state had generated more than $6.7 billion in total revenue over the same period, more than six times the NSW government's spending on basic maintenance of public schools this year.
家长Lauren Thomas和Danielle Goncalves
(Image source: The Telegraph)
Revenues per top private school grew by between 5 and 40 percent. The wealthiest school in NSW is still Knox Grammar on the Upper North Bank, where more than 3,000 boys attend at a cost of $40,000 a year.
Between 2018 and 2022, Knox reported more than $500 million in total revenue from tuition, private equity and state and federal government funding. Barker College, the second richest company, saw a 40% increase in revenue to a total of $462.5 million.
Principal Phillip Heath attributed much of the increase in income to the co-education system that began in 2019, saying: "This has led to an increase in revenue, which schools are reinvesting in facilities for the benefit of students and the community. ”
Sydney Grammar School（4.561亿澳元）、The Scots College（4.471亿澳元）和 Pymble Ladies’ College（4.095亿澳元）位列前5。
Barker College校长Phillip Heath（图片来源：《每日电讯报》）
NSW Teachers' Union president Henry Rajendra said the funding shortfall was "entirely solvable" and called on the federal government to increase its share of the "school resource allocation standard" to 25 per cent, arguing it was "economically necessary".
He argues that the funding gap between public and private schools is clearly unfair and short-sighted, and that "today's students are the lifeblood of the workforce of the future, and ignoring their education now will have serious consequences in the future." ”
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said total funding for public schools increased by $3 billion between 2018 and 2024.
"NSW Government funding for public schools is based on a model that recognises each school's unique circumstances and the needs of its students, which can cause funding for individual schools to fluctuate from year to year," he said. ”