Waverley College is losing about $27 million in government funding.
Another principal of an Anglican school facing multimillion-dollar losses said the budget would be cut as tightly as possible,and “when we can’t cut it any tighter,we’ll have to put the fees up”.
“What we’ll end up with is like England - independent schools will only be available for the very richest people,” the principal said. “Then schools really will be elite,they will not be available to the middle classes.”
The head of another Catholic independent school,which will lose millions a year,said the school hoped philanthropy would help. “Approaching alumni,back to fundraising,” they said. “We’ll have to put fees up. There’s no room to raise numbers. We’ll survive,but it’s difficult,the transition period is really hard.”
The principal of another school,which has received a significant amount of money above its SRS due to funding deals struck during the Howard government,and had fees similar to Waverley’s,also feared losing the school’s middle-class families. He did not want to cut back the school’s educational offering,as families had come to expect a standard from the school.
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“Putting fees up completely changes our mission,” they said. “Some parents are wealthier,but we still have poor,and many parents with massive mortgages.”
However,the president of the NSW Teachers Federation,Angelo Gavrielatos,said private schools were continually putting their fees up,and families were no less willing to pay them. The more pressing issue was getting public schools to 100 per cent of their SRS.
“We need to come to terms with a harsh reality in Australia. Our public schools remain underfunded while private schools are overfunded,” he said. “That’s the discussion,not private schools crying foul. The funding has not gone where it’s needed.”
Chris Bonnor,the co-author of a book on funding reform,Waiting for Gonski,said private school fees had kept rising even while their government subsidies grew,and there was no reason why schools could not cut their educational offerings instead of raising fees.
“They’ve got to come to grips with the fact that they are getting the same results as similar government schools,no matter how many fees they charge,” he said. “Schools that enrol similar kids get similar results,but the non-government sector is pouring more money in.”
Geoff Newcombe,the head of the Association of Independent Schools of NSW,said 27 independent schools were nominated by the government for transition assistance,and the association identified another 23 regional schools as needing support.
The association was also helping schools develop business models and financial governance structures as they transition to a lower funding level.
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