Intolerance in schools funding debate

What a revealing article. It says more about the author’s world view than it does about education funding in Australia.

Alan Matheson’s article (On Line Opinion) is not a critique or a reasoned argument, it is a polemic. The so called examples he cites are unverified, and there’s no indication as to their source.

Apparently, in Alan Matheson’s world, all public schools have broken toilets, and all Christian schools have “heated swimming pools”. Both ideas are equally absurd.

This author either does not know - or chooses to ignore - that the diversity in the Australian community applies equally to all school settings.

And what exactly does he mean by the term “Christian” school? Does he mean “church” school? Does he mean community based Christian school? Parent-run Christian school? Denominational? Non-denominational? Systemic? Independent?

I represent about 150 Christian schools - members of Christian Schools Australia.

CSA member schools are representative of the very thing Mr Matheson apparently despises: local faith-based schools which have been growing in number and enrolments over the last 20 years as parents increasingly exercise their right to choose a school on the basis of faith, beliefs and values and ethos.

Christian schools in this growing sector have been established by local, individual, churches and parent groups.

They are all not-for-profit organisations. Individuals - mums and dads and community volunteers - took the financial risk of seeing the school established, providing for its growth, and in ensuring it has a sustainable future. The growth of these schools represents a very substantial investment by mums and dads and their local church communities in the education of Australia’s children.

They invest family income to make up the difference between public funding and the cost of providing education services to the community. The amount invested each year by parents of non-government school children as a whole is about $4 billion.

So how much public funding do Christian schools get - those singled out for attack by Mr Matheson?

Well forgive the boring detail, but this is the research that should have done before posting his uninformed opinion. First, federal funding.

All non-government schools in Australia are funded on the same basis. All are funded according to a formula which links the socio-economic status (SES) of the school’s community with their level of funding.

Schools in well-off communities get less funding. Schools in poorer areas get more funding. None of them get as much per student as the local government school - by definition.

The growing Christian schools have generally been in working class and lower middle class areas, providing choice not previously available to these families.

The average SES score for schools in CSA is 97 (on a scale where 85 is the lowest and 130 is the highest).

An SES score of 97 qualifies for funding at 55 per cent of the AGSRC. What’s that? It is a measurement of the Average Government School Recurrent Cost - the average cost of educating the equivalent child in a government school.

The average CSA school receives, in federal funding, 55 per cent of the per-student funding of government schools. Not more funding than government schools - less. Just over half as much.

So what about state government funding? Non-government schools also receive a limited amount of funding from state governments. The formula is different in every state, but the resources of the school are a factor in state funding.

The best comparison comes from the Productivity Commission’s analysis of the level of public funding in all sectors, taking into account ALL funding from ALL governments. The Commission’s study shows the average public funding for a student in a government school is $10,715. The average public funding for a non-government school student is $6,054.

For every $1.00 invested per student in public education by Australia’s governments, the same governments invest $0.67 per student in non-government schooling.

Alan Matheson’s comments are typical of the divisive, inaccurate, inequitable and just plain wrong-headed attack of public sector unions on parental choice.

They also represent something much worse. His examples might apply to schools in any sector. However he singles out “Christian” schools as the single target of his attack (whatever he perceives that to mean). Arguments like this are a threat to Australia’s diverse and tolerant society.

Contrary to his assertions the Gospel and its values of social justice are alive and well in Christian schools. Our outworkings of the Gospel are certainly not limited to fees, but as this seems to be his main complaint let’s address it.

Schools in CSA, in common with the other “growing” Christian schools, maintain affordable fee policies. They keep their fees to the lowest level required to meet appropriate standards (to make up the gap between government funding and the cost of educating students).

They do this so that Christian education can be affordable and accessible. If Alan Matheson had his way, and government funding was taken away from Christian schools this choice would only be available to very wealthy families. Where’s the justice in that?

If Alan Matheson really wants to see funding justice, so that even the most disadvantaged can choose a faith-based education, then he should be advocating increased funding for these families to access Christian (and other faith-based) schools.