Funding, buses key education issues
Local
Equitable funding for Catholic schools and fair access to school buses in regional areas are two issues Catholic Education SA (CESA) wants addressed by political parties in this month’s State election.
In letters sent by principals last month, local candidates have been asked to look at several ‘extremely relevant’ issues that impact Catholic Education’s 48,000 students and 8500 staff.
Topping the list is funding, with CESA seeking a commitment that the recurrent funding contribution of 22 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) be maintained, so that Catholic schools can continue to be accessible to all families.
CESA is also seeking an increase in annual capital grant allocations over the next four years, from $11.7m in 2021 to $20m in 2025.
‘The State Government capital grants program is vitally important because government recurrent funding cannot be used for capital works or infrastructure developments in Catholic schools,’ CESA said in its election statement.
In response to the increasing demand for early years services, CESA is seeking 1000 State Government-funded preschool places in Catholic Education by 2025. Currently, under a longstanding agreement with the government, CESA provides 420 places for four-year-old children across nine preschools, however these places and settings are full.
The availability of school buses for Catholic school children in rural and regional areas is another area which CESA wants addressed.
It is seeking an increase in the grant allocation from the State Government from $1m (indexed) to $1.5m (indexed) per annum.
‘The grant allocation offsets some of the travel costs for families and, in particular ‘hotspots’ where access to government-run school buses has been volatile, the grant allocation has enabled certain schools to provide their own bus service,’ CESA said.
‘We seek a State Government bus policy that puts the needs of children first, regardless of their families’ choice of schooling.’
Other issues highlighted include providing a $10m payment to CESA in recognition of the significant costs incurred in the transition of Year 7 students into secondary settings across Catholic schools; a commitment to working in partnership with CESA to more efficiently expand vocational education; and continuing to provide mandated supplies to ensure the safety of students and staff during the COVID pandemic.
The newly-formed Catholic School Parents of South Australia (CSPSA) has thrown its support behind CESA’s election position statement, revealing the recurring theme of parents’ concerns was the government’s commitment to maintaining and increasing school and capital funding.
“Whilst navigating economic recovery from COVID-19, families have faced uncertainty in employment and have experienced major financial implications,” said CSPSA executive officer Trish Jarvis.
“Families require the elected government to commit to funding structures to enable them to have confidence that their child’s education remains accessible.
“Accessibility to education is a strong factor which, as the key parent body, we continue to be calling for. Fair access to regional buses, with a commitment to increasing the State Government contribution to rural and regional bus services is strongly supported as parents face the practical day-to-day issues on accessing this essential service.”
At the launch of CESA’s strategy for 2022-27 in January, Premier Steven Marshall and Education Minister John Gardner promised the capital grants program would continue and committed to a 50 per cent increase to $1.5m in funding to support Catholic school bus programs. This pledge was matched by Opposition Education spokesman Blair Boyer, who also promised if Labor was elected a minimum $5.5m a year would be provided to the capital grants program and he would consider increasing the amount.
Chair of the SA Commission for Catholic Schools, Professor Denis Ralph, concluded the evening saying that CESA would continue to lobby as it wanted firm commitments from the political parties and not ‘vague promises’.
For the latest information go to www.cesa.catholic.edu.au/state-election
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