This Sydney school science lab has shut down until there is money to fix it. How did it come to this?

When NSW public schools were told in April their budgets would be cut and any unspent accumulated funds frozen, it triggered a wave of concern among principals that long-awaited building and classroom upgrades would be abandoned.

The sudden announcement – delivered via an all-staff email days before the first holiday break of the year – came as a shock to many school leaders.

“There were hints that budgets could be tightened, but the timing and the extent of how much was cut was a surprise,” said Craig Petersen, head of the NSW Secondary Principals’ Council.

NSW Education Department secretary Murat Dizdar told principals that their budgets would be reduced by 1.25 per cent, about $148 million, amid a steady decline in enrolments.

A few weeks later, millions of dollars sitting in public school bank accounts vanished without any communication. The cuts had come “from necessity”, Dizdar said, to ensure effective and efficient funding of schools to match enrolments and student needs.

One regional school principal, who spoke anonymously because they are not allowed to speak to the media, said $800,000 held in their accounts had been frozen. “That money was going to be spent on new all-weather sports courts and basketball courts, and new staff kitchens to replace those built 40 years ago,” he said.

At Killarney Heights High School on Sydney’s north shore, the president of the P&C, Rob Malicki, said the school had set aside some of its $600,000 in accumulated funds to upgrade buildings. “We need a hazardous science lab fixed. It’s now at the point where it’s falling apart,” he said. The lab is closed.

On Tuesday, NSW Education Minister Prue Car said next week’s “back-to-basics” state budget – to be delivered on June 18 – would include $1 billion for “minor works” and maintenance to update toilet blocks and science labs. Doors, fences and windows would be repaired.

“The extra money for basic works is welcome,” Petersen said. “But the fact the government thinks this is worth announcing highlights just how inadequate public school funding has been for so many years.”

Meanwhile, as the budget looms, a fresh battle over funding is simmering, with NSW and the Commonwealth at loggerheads over how much extra cash will be pumped into schools as part of a new 10-year agreement.

How we got here

In September last year, the NSW teachers union and state government ended months of deadlock over wage negotiations, reaching a historic pay deal that lifted graduate salaries by $10,000.

It marked a major win for the newly elected NSW Labor government after a protracted fight over pay and months of strike action. Graduate teacher salaries rose to $85,000 and top-of-the-scale pay to $122,100.

About $1.9 billion was allocated in last year’s budget to fund wage rises over four years, with the government reducing executive teachers, moving deputies back to classrooms and cutting contractors.

But the latest school budget cuts – which Car insists have “nothing to do with the teacher pay rises” – come as NSW is demanding the Commonwealth double how much extra money it will deliver to public schools.

States and territories are locked in negotiations with the federal government to ensure public schools reach 100 per cent of the Schooling Resourcing Standard (SRS) agreed under the Gonski reforms a decade ago.

The states are ultimately responsible for running their public schools. They provide the bulk of funding: 80 per cent to the Commonwealth’s 20 per cent, under the current model.

The federal government has offered to lift its share of funding to NSW public schools to 22.5 per cent, at a cost of $4.1 billion over 10 years.

But at a press conference to announce a new high school at Box Hill this week, Car said negotiations had again reached “an impasse” and urged the Commonwealth to lift their share to 25 per cent and set up a capital works fund, similar to one private schools have.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare has repeatedly said that extra funding must be tied to reforms that will improve student performance and the education outcomes for all children.

“This won’t be a blank cheque. This funding will be tied to reforms that help kids catch up, keep up and finish school,” Clare has said.

Why it matters

Late last year, the NSW Education Department released its plan for public education, which outlined plans to boost staff numbers, lift attendance rates and the number of students finishing year 12.

Teacher shortages are sitting at about 2000, similar to the same time last year. National school retention rates have collapsed, with one in five students dropping out before finishing their final year of schooling.

Despite billions of dollars poured into schools under the previous federal-state funding deal, literacy and numeracy results are stagnant and the vast achievement gap between the richest and poorest students is growing.

Australia has one of the most socially segregated school systems in the OECD, with disadvantaged students concentrated into disadvantaged schools.

Dizdar has urged schools to embed explicit teaching in the classroom, but it is unclear if any extra funds will be allocated for professional learning programs.

One Sydney primary school principal said a laser-like focus on explicit instruction would help lift declining enrolments and close the learning gap.

“Reaching 100 per cent of the SRS is critical. And so is upgrading schools so we have good quality playgrounds, classrooms and facilities. But teaching is the key factor – and the most powerful influence – on school students,” he said.

What they said

What’s been promised

• $1.08 billion will be spent on minor works at hundreds of public schools across NSW, $200 million more than last year.
• Last year the government allocated $3.5 billion over four years for a pipeline of school infrastructure in western Sydney. That has increased to $3.6 billion in this year’s budget, which includes a new public primary and high school in Box Hill.
• Schools have received their allocation from $278 million committed over four years on small group tutoring

An up-to-date list of everything we know about the NSW budget can be found here.

Further reading

How one state deal reignited Australia’s school funding wars

Public schools have an image problem, even without funding cuts

School budgets slashed by $148 million as deputies forced back to classroom

NSW cut public school budgets. Now it’s asking for an extra $8 billion

‘A lot of angst’: Sydney principals spooked as school funds vanish

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