School cash swifty claim

SUCCESSIVE state governments have cut millions from education, new figures from the Productivity Commission reveal.

The commission’s education report on government services showed the former Labor-Green government and current Liberal government had each cut more than $400 per student from the public education system, Save Our Schools national convener Trevor Cobbold said yesterday.

“These cuts almost completely offset Commonwealth funding increases during both periods of government,” Mr Cobbold said.

“As a result, total government funding (Commonwealth and state) for public schools increased by only $38 per student under the Labor Government and by $13 per student under the Liberal Government.”

Independent Denison MHR Andrew Wilkie said the report showed real Tasmanian government recurrent expenditure on government schools was $21.5m less in 2015-16 than in 2012-13.

He said state governments were using federal government money to prop up education funding.

Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said Tasmania had 107 more teachers in schools, more than 70 additional support staff, and 38 schools had extended to Year 12,

“Facts in Tasmania speak for themselves,” he said.

“As a result, more students are staying at school longer and achieving more while they are there, evidenced by improved retention and TCE attainment rates.”

“Financially, ROGS includes a number of accounting measures which affect the recurrent expenditure reported, such as the impact of non-cash items including the level of inflation, discount rates applied to long service leave, a lower depreciation expense and the level of capitalised expenditure from recurrent funds.

“Funding provided to schools but not yet spent is also not recognised as expenditure for the purposes of the report.”

Labor education spokeswoman Michelle O’Byrne said between the Hodgman Government’s 2014 budget cuts and the Federal Liberals’ cuts to Gonski, Tasmanian schools had been left severely worse off.

Australian Education Union Tasmania branch president Helen Richardson said the figures revealed the full extent of the “funding crisis” in Tasmanian education.

“Every political party contesting the election must be asked the question: are you going to draw a line under the cuts of the past and pledge to start reinvesting in public schools,” she said.