School fee debt soars as parents struggle to pay

DOMANII CAMERON PARENTS at Queensland state schools are struggling to keep up with their child’s fees and charges, with one of Brisbane’s top facilities owed almost $1 million.

P&Cs Queensland has urged parents to budget, amid concerns that students will be stopped from participating in recreational and extracurricular activities.

Brisbane State High School, which has more than 3100 stu- dents, is currently owed $895,486. The school recently urged families who might be experiencing financial difficulties to contact them as soon as possible.

Each school is responsible for managing their fee debt burden, with the Education Department unable to confirm an overall figure for the state.

P&Cs Queensland chief executive Kevan Goodworth said that schools made allowances for people, with some pay systems in place.

“People do need to pay their bills ultimately,” he said.

“I do know that schools bend over backwards, so they’re not as ruthless in terms of trying to claw that little bit of money back.”

An Education Department spokesman said the majority of outstanding fees were from 2018 and were typical year-toyear costs of a school with about 3200 students.

For the same period in 2017, the amount owing was $734,614.