Investigators will conduct an audit of the state’s oldest private school and trawl through relevant financial documents to check for spending irregularities and possible misuse of government funding.
The King’s School is under the spotlight over recent spending decisions.Rhett Wyman
In June,theHerald revealed that an old boys’ representative on the King’s boardto watch students compete at the Henley Royal Regatta and that the council approved a request by its principal,Tony George,to have a his on-site residence.
The NSW Department of Education made initial requests for more information about the school’s spending and began an investigation after consulting the non-government schools not-for-profit advisory committee. The advisory committee was set up in 2014.
The federal government also wrote to the school in August “reminding them of their obligations” under the Australian Education Act regarding the use of recurrent government funding.
The trip by the headmaster and deputy to the Royal Henley Regatta to watch the King’s First VIII race in the schoolboys’ Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup provoked anger among some parents. The school’s chair Rosemary Abrahams at the time said it and “these arrangements are entirely consistent with those of other independent schools that we are usually compared to”.
NSW Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said the “expectation of any non-government school receiving public funding is very clear – the funding must be for the education of its students.”
“I expect all non-government schools to comply with their not-for-profit requirements and will not hesitate to take action should it be clear they are non-compliant.”
King’s is one of Australia’s richest schools and in 2020 received more than $21 million in government funding,which included around $8 million in JobKeeper. The school received just over $58 million in fees and parent contributions for that year.
Potential penalties for misuse of public funding can include a reduction or conditions placed on the school’s funding,or a school being ordered to pay back public money. No individual is under investigation.
The King’s School boat shed in Putney,Sydney.Janie Barrett
Independent schools that receive state government funding must operate on a not-for-profit basis. A source with knowledge of the auditing process for non-government schools,who spoke anonymously in order to detail what they know,said past investigations have frequently extended beyond 12 months and looked at other matters where there was a suspicion of a potential breach.
Most high-fee private school funding comes from parent fees. However,the federal and state governments also contribute anywhere between $3000 to $10,000 for each student,depending on parent income and disadvantage.
Public funds can only be spent on the costs of running the school,rather than on capital and building works.
Legislation that requires NSW private schools to hand over financial information to education authorities was introduced to parliament by former education minister Adrian Piccoli in 2014 after revelations about the use of state government funds by Greenacre Muslim school,Malek Fahd.
King’s,in North Parramatta,was established 191 years ago. Its fees range from $24,000 for a pre-school year to $40,000 for year 12 and $69,000 for tuition and boarding in the senior school.
A spokesman for The King’s School confirmed it had been advised by the NSW Department of Education that it has commenced an investigation under section 83H of the NSW Education Act.
“The school takes its obligations seriously and is cooperating with the department,” the spokesman said.
“Given that an investigation has been commenced,it is inappropriate for the school to comment further.”
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