STATE BUDGET- EDUCATION
7th May 2010
From the Parliamentary Library
Author: By JEWEL TOPSFIELD EDUCATION EDITOR
Publisher: Fairfax
Publication: The Age, Page 6 (Wed 5 May 2010)
Keywords: Martin (1),Dixon (1)
Edition: First
Section: NewsCatholic sector displeased
STATE BUDGET- EDUCATION
CATHOLIC schools are angry they received no new funding in the budget, despite educating almost a quarter of Victoria's students on less money per student than government schools.
But Melbourne's growth areas stand to benefit, with a new year 10-12 school to be built at Tarneit, in Melbourne's outer west.
Overall there were few surprises in education. The lion's share of the funding was $271.3 million - the final instalment in the government's 2006 election promise to invest $1.9 billion to refurbish 500 government schools by 2011.
The government will spend $34 million building the new school at Tarneit and continuing work on three other new schools - Mount Ridley in the north, Manor Lakes in the west and Timbarra in the east.
Julie Mason, principal of the prep to year 9 Baden Powell College, which has a campus at Tarneit, said parents were delighted there would now be a natural progression for their children.
Catholic Education director Stephen Elder said the budget had failed to increase state government funding for Catholic schools to 25 per cent of the cost of education in a government school - as promised by the opposition. He said Catholic secondary schools were the fastest growing sector in Victoria and educated many students from low socio-economic areas.
More than $100 million will be spent on nine so-called "school regeneration projects", where schools merge and share facilities to tackle declining enrolments. Precincts to benefit are Altona/Bayside, Bendigo, Corio/Norlane, Heidelberg, Keysborough/Springvale, Knox, Ouyen, Thomastown and Western Heights.
The government will also spend $64.3 million on new libraries, gyms, classrooms, science and IT centres at 11 state schools.
Education Minister Bronwyn Pike said the $271.3 million would see 553 projects funded in this term of government - more than the election commitment of 500 schools.
As reported in The Age last week, an extra 3590 kindergarten places will be funded over five years. Kindergarten Parents Victoria welcomed the extra funding, but said it fell short of 15 hours a week for every four-year-old.
The Australian Education Union said that for a government that touted education as its top priority, the announcements were disappointing. Opposition education spokesman Martin Dixon said: "It's almost like they are treading water until they make some election announcements."
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Martin Dixon MP
State Member for Nepean
Shop 1, McCrae Plaza
Cnr Lonsdale Street and Pt Nepean Road
McCRAE VIC 3938
Phone: (61) 3 5986 6661
Fax: (61) 3 5981 1360
Email: martin.dixon@parliament.vic.gov.au