Media Release, 1 May, 2012

The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) will accept the Australian Government’s invitation to participate fully in the analysis of the recommendations of the Report on Funding for Schooling released on 20 February.

“There is much detailed work to be done”, said Mrs Therese Temby, Chair of NCEC.

“We have asked Minister Garrett and his department to release as a matter of urgency the detailed modelling that has already been completed on the Gonski recommendations”, she said.

“NCEC is keen to test the assumptions in the model. There are many questions to be addressed.

• How has the final list of ‘reference schools’ been decided to determine the Schooling Resource Standard?
• How will the loadings be calculated?
• How will cost indexation be calculated to maintain the value of grants to schools?
• How will school funding be ‘rebalanced’ between Commonwealth and state governments?
• What does ‘anticipated capacity of … parents … to contribute to the school’s resource requirements’ really mean?
• What role will the new federal and state-based bureaucratic machinery play?”

In committing to work with the Australian Government to unpack the implications of the Gonski recommendations for school funding, NCEC asks all governments to commit to the additional funding that the Gonski panel says is required for school funding reform.

“A genuine cross-sectoral commitment to detailed analysis, model building, together with policy work, is now absolutely necessary”, said Mrs Temby.

“The Gonski school funding architecture poses many challenges”, said Mrs Temby. “But NCEC is pleased to note the emphasis on supporting disadvantaged students”.

ENDS

Media contact: Bill Griffiths, NCEC CEO, 0488 056 660