Our richest schools raise fees by 91%

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This was published 13 years ago

Our richest schools raise fees by 91%

By Natalie Craig

TAXPAYER funding to private schools, intended to help keep fees down, has failed, with Melbourne's richest schools increasing their fees well above the inflation rate during the past decade.

The current Commonwealth funding formula, introduced by the Howard government in 2001 and now under review, was supposed to help private schools subsidise their tuition fees, making them affordable for more families.

Fees at 10 top schools have instead soared by an average of 91 per cent in the past decade, compared with inflation of 37 per cent.

They are also growing at a faster rate than the government's index of private education labour costs, which is up 49.8 per cent in the decade to June 2010. Wages account for the bulk of schools' expenditure.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has promised to overhaul the funding system following a review due this year, prompting speculation that taxpayer contributions for private schools could be reduced.

Of the 10 schools analysed, Haileybury has had the largest increase in government funding since the model was introduced, which takes account of the ''socio-economic status'' of a school community, rather than the school's resources or capacity to raise money.

Its taxpayer contributions have more than quadrupled in a decade from $1009 to $4638 per student. During the same period, year 12 fees jumped 91 per cent, from $12,075 in 2001 to $23,055 this year. The school has said that because it draws on students in less wealthy areas, especially at its Berwick and Keysborough campuses, it is entitled to more government funding under the SES model.

Michelle Green, head of Independent Schools Victoria, said fee growth was not gratuitous, and fees would have risen even higher were it not for government contributions. ''The fact is, education is expensive,'' she said. ''The more we put into education, the better results we get. But … parents are also prepared in independent schools to make up the shortfall … Government funding doesn't give the schools everything they need to operate.''

She said private school parents saved taxpayers money by bearing the brunt of rising education costs stemming from higher teacher wages and technology needs. On average, their fees accounted for 66 per cent of schools' income.

''I think that [parents] should be recognised and applauded for that, rather than somehow be made to feel that they are part of an elitist group.'' She added that the education consumer price index was increasing at about twice the rate of the standard CPI that measures inflation.

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But Trevor Cobbold, former productivity commissioner and head of lobby Save Our Schools, said that the education CPI only reflected rising costs to consumers; in this case, parents. He said education labour costs were a better indicator of the increased costs to schools.

''Elite private school fees are increasing faster than salary costs, which comprise about 80 per cent or more of school costs,'' he said. ''Together with massive increases in federal funding, this enables them to increase education quality through lower class sizes, more education resources such as use of technology, and new facilities.''

Architect of the funding system, Howard government education minister David Kemp, told parliament in 2000 that higher taxpayer contributions would ''push down the pressure on school fees, making all schools much more accessible''.

He said: ''Wesley College and numbers of other schools have also indicated that when they receive the funding entitlement … they will be reducing their fees.''

Wesley's fees have instead increased by 99 per cent since 2001, from $11,330 to $22,560.

Wesley parent Simon Smith has been fighting for the school to be more accountable for its spending. He said there was no evidence to show it was being used to improve access for poorer students. ''And even if it did keep fees down to $21,000 instead of $22,000 a year - that's meaningless to poorer families,'' he said.

Meanwhile, an independent survey released by the teachers' union today suggests that most Australians regard private education as overfunded.

Almost 70 per cent of respondents agreed that the federal government was ''giving too much to private schools and too little to public schools''.

The survey, released at the Australian Education Union's national conference, used a representative sample of 2547 people, a quarter of whom were parents of school-aged children. Of the 2547, 16 per cent sent their children to public schools and 9 per cent to private schools.

Forty-eight per cent of respondents said any new money stemming from the government review should go primarily to public schools.

Australian Education Union head Angelo Gavrielatos said the survey indicated overwhelming endorsement for a radical funding shift.

''The opportunity exists for the Labor government to introduce a new funding system that recognises the government's primary obligation to properly fund public schools.''

Independent Schools Victoria chief Michelle Green said the union was encouraging the misconception that all private schools were elite, when the bulk were low-fee and attended by ordinary families.

Education Minister Peter Garrett said in response to the survey that he valued the input of organisations such as the AEU, and that Labor had doubled funding to schools, investing $64.9 billion to boost Australian education.

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