2012 QUEENSLAND CATHOLIC SCHOOL PARENTS CONFERENCE

Transcription

1 2012 QUEENSLAND CATHOLIC SCHOOL PARENTS CONFERENCE Radisson Resort Gold Coast 5 7 May, 2012

2 FUNDING CATHOLIC SCHOOLS A workshop by Mike Byrne Executive Director Queensland Catholic Education Commission

3 Today s Plan Introduction Historical Context Current Funding Arrangement Funding Review Future Considerations and Strategies

4 The Historical Context 19th Century First Queensland school was established in1845 in the colony of Moreton Bay. Operated and staffed almost exclusively by the Religious congregations until the 60 s. Solely funded by parents and parish communities.

5 The Historical Context The right of parents to choose the education they want for their children, and as tax payers, to receive government support for that education, had been debated in Australia for decades.

6 The Battle for State Aid Up until the 1960s Catholic and Protestant children were being educated separately Catholic parents wanted their children educated in Church schools Bigotry on both sides Poor parish schools depended on unpaid labour of nuns and brothers Constant fund raising to survive

7 1960s Things were at crisis point Baby boom and migration program led to an increase in enrolments in Catholic Schools

8 1962 July 1962 Goulburn Catholic Schools' strike. Government forced to consider funding for non-government schools

9 DVD The Golburn Strike

10 The Beginning of Government Funding Late 1960 s non-government schools, including Catholic schools, began to receive a small amount of government support. Initially $15 per student

11 1970s 1972 Federal government agrees to pay 20% of the average cost of educating a child in a state school to non-government schools on the proviso that State governments matched the grant. Federal government implements a program of grants for capital works.

12 Catholic Schools Today Nationally 1,701 schools 713,000 student 81,000 staff

13 292 Catholic schools 138,000 + students 17,000 staff Queensland Administered by 17 Religious Institutes or PJPs and 5 Diocesan education authorities located in Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and Brisbane

14 Untangling the Terms Basket Recurrent Capital Nexus Federal Gonski Funding Supplementation AGSRC State Funding SES

15 Current Funding Arrangement Recurrent To assist with day to day operating costs Special targeted funding programs Capital Funding for buildings and works

16 Recurrent Funding Australian Government Australian Government 53% State Government 19% State Government Parent and Community contributions 28% Parent and Community contributions Tied to a % of the cost of educating a student in a government school.

17 State Government Funding Basket and Nexus model Cost of educating a student in a state school is calculated. (Basket) Then a % of this amount, the Nexus, which is currently % is allocated for each student in non-government schools This figure is multiplied by the number of students in non-government schools to create the pool of recurrent funds available

18 State Government Funding Most of this pool of State funding (approx 75%) is allocated on purely a per student basis The remainder (approx 25%) is subject to a needs criteria for example: SRI (level of school resourcing indicator) Students with special needs Isolation Students with English as a second language Indigenous students

19 State Government Funding The needs component is expected to increase from 25.25% to 40% over the coming years Schools with greater need will receive relatively more state funding

20 Federal Government Funding Average cost of educating a child in a government school (AGRSC) Socio Economic Status Score of School Community (SES)

21 Federal Government Funding Average Government School Recurrent Cost (AGSRC). Average per student $ amount that States and Territories spend on State schools.

22 Socio-Economic Status (SES) The SES involves linking the residential addresses of students to Australian Bureau of Statistics census data to obtain a socio - economic indicator for the school community.

23 No of Schools Queensland Catholic schools socio-economic status (SES) scores < or = SES Scores

24 Federal Government Funding Non-government schools are then allocated funds at a percentage of AGSRC. Schools with lower SES scores attract a higher percentage of AGSRC and vice-versa. Under Australian government arrangements that no school would be worse off as a result of changes implemented in 2004 (until the end of 2012) Australian Government funding for Catholic schools has been provided as follows:

25 Federal Government Funding Schools with an SES score below 96 attract funding at a rate applicable to their SES score E.g. School with SES score of 94 attracts funding of 58.7% of AGSRC Schools with SES score of 89 attracts funding of 65% of AGSRC Schools with an SES score of 96 or above are funded at 56.2% of AGSRC New schools are funded at their actual SES entitlement rate

26 Group Funding The Australian Government component of recurrent funding attracted by Queensland Catholic schools is then pooled and redistributed by QCEC according to arrangements known as Group Funding.

27 How Group Funding Works Needs-based system Takes into account a greater range of particular school needs than just SES Group Funding is vital because it allows the Catholic sector to better meet the particular needs of school communities at different times

28 How Group Funding Works All Queensland Catholic schools participate in Group Funding, a testimony to the spirit of solidarity, stewardship and commitment to the common good.

29 Group Funding Needs-based Funding Allocation Model Base grant (per student/all schools) 50.5% SES 15% Private income 10% Resource expenses 10% Teacher costs 9.5% Isolation 1.5% SWD 1.5% School size 1% Interest 1%

30 How Group Funding Works From the total pool of funding attracted by all schools, the amount allocated to each school from each needs pool is therefore dependent on the relative circumstances of other schools.

31 How Funding Works Example School A State Government Recurrent Funding 2009 State primary base grant - $1,055 (Common to all non-state schools) Needs component - (Taking into account student and school special need such as students with disabilities, Indigenous, SES, etc.) $498 (per student) Total per student State Grant is: $1553

32 How Funding Works Example School A (cont) Australian Government Funding SES Score of 90 attracts $5,125 per student to the Catholic system pool

33 How Funding Works Example School A (cont)

34 How Group Funding Works State Government Recurring Funding $1,553 Federal Government Recurrent Funding $5,575 (after group funding is applied) Example School A Parent contributions $2,300 Total per student income $9,428

35 Group Funding Rates Group Funding rates are set for a four year period (currently 2009 to 2012) to assist school planning processes A supplementation rate is applied to recognise increases in funding according to changes in the AGSRC due to changes in government spending in the state school sector

36 Comparison with Government Schools Even when income from parents is taken into account, Catholic schools, on average, still operate at a resourcing level lower than State schools.

37 Funding Comparisons

38 Capital Funding Both the Australian and Queensland Governments provide capital assistance grants to help Catholic schools build and refurbish facilities All capital assistance funding is paid by Government to the Queensland Catholic Education Commission which is charged with administering the funds within the sector

39 Capital Funding Capital assistance is paid to schools on the basis of applications for funding to the QCEC Capital Committee for specific capital projects A yearly round is held for capital assistance applications and applications are assessed on factors such as condition and extent of existing facilities, enrolment projections and schools financial position

40 School Fees Catholic schools strive to keep school fees as low as possible and remain accessible to all who seek their values No child should be denied a Catholic education because of their family s financial situation

41 Have we Untangled the Terms? Recurrent Basket Nexus Supplementation State Funding AGSRC Capital Funding Gonski SES Commonwealth Funding

42 Any questions

43 Federal Funding Review Reviewed every four years Gonski Report delivered and review underway New funding model due to be implemented in 2013 but will not be implemented until David Gonski

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45 Professor Peter Tannock 13 Points The essence of the report

46 1. Balance State and Federal Government contributions to educational funding. This is the hardest role as it requires States to look at their role. States are already saying they won t be contributing. 2. An outcomes based Education standard of resources based on highly performing schools. 3. Loading system for disadvantaged schools for all sectors. As yet undefined. A lot of assumptions are being made here.

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48 4. A new indexation base. A shift from AGSRC. Based on costs in the Reference Schools. 5. Provision of full and equal funding for disabled students - a voucher. Reference is made to system based management of the funds. 6. Full funding for schools each with large disadvantage e.g. 75% Indigenous. This is open to all schools in all sectors. Also for sole provider schools.

49 7. Use of SES as a measure of capacity to pay % of SRS standard. Funding maintained to be phased out say over 6 years. Will this provide enough money? Will this shift our low fee base? 60% of our 1700 schools are funding maintained. This will be a challenge to hold to low fee accessibility. There may be pressure on systems to push money away from low resourced schools.

50 8. Capital Report is underdone on Capital. Continue Capital contribution and role of BGA. This process recommended to Public schools. Constitute a Schools Growth Fund with a State Planning structure. How much the Government contributes to this pool is unknown. 9. Roll up of all Commonwealth special purpose/target programs into the general funding pool. Includes N.P. money.

51 10. Support for school based decision making, especially over staffing. This especially applies to State systems. There were issues about the size of Catholic CEO offices. 11. Systems to be active on teacher quality. This is a focus on University teaching and quality of graduates. 12. New structures to implement much of the above National Schools Resourcing Body Schooling Resource Standard School Planning Authorities state based School Growth Fund.

52 13. Contribution of private funding to support low resourced schools and not to penalise schools for private funding. All are eligible for base 25%.

53 Sample scenario Funding for Brisbane school using proposed Gonski modelling

54 Data based on a Brisbane based school Funded SES 96 Actual SES 102 Remoteness Category Major City ICSEA 1028 % 1st Quartile 22% ENROLMENTS PRI SEC TOTAL % OF FUNDED Total enrolments Indigenous Enrolments % ESL students % SWD students %

55 School Resource Standard (SRS) Proposed Gonski Funding Pri Rate Sec Rate Total Per Capita SRS Funding rates $8,000 $10,500 Government contribution $0 $7,776 $4,370,115 $7,776 Private Contribution $0 $2,705 $1,520,385 $2,705 Loadings Factor / Loading Pri Rate Sec Rate Total Per Capita School location and size Not Eligible $0 $0 $0 $0 Low SES Students 17.80% $0 $1,869 $230,672 $410 Indigeneity Not Eligible $0 $0 $0 $0 Limited English Proficiency 20.00% $0 $2,100 $60,900 $108 Students with Disabilities 100% $0 $10,500 $84,000 $150 Total Gonski Review Funding $4,745,687 $8,444

56 My School Funding data 2009 Recurrent Income Total Per cap Australian Government $3,531,243 $6,283 State Government $1,298,572 $2,311 Total Government $4,829,815 $8,594 GONSKI $8,444 Variance -$150

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58 Future Considerations and Strategies Major issue is the contribution of $5b from the Commonwealth and State governments NCEC continue modelling various funding scenarios and consider implications of each model Need to negotiate with the Federal Minister about possible amendments to model based on this further modelling

59 Future Considerations and Strategies Coalition (Christopher Pyne) favour the SES model NCEC will look to developing an enhanced SES model based on current system Government plans to legislate with new legislation in second half of 2012 with implementation in 2014

60 Future Considerations and Strategies A Federal election will be held before November 2013 Political climate still very unstable NCEC plans to have discussions with Greens

61 The Role of Parents QCEC works very closely with the P&F Federation on political advocacy Carmel Nash is a member of QCEC and the QCEC Political Advisory Subcommittee Parent engagement will be critical in influencing politicians about the funding process

62 Any questions