Parents face hike in fees
ANALYSIS of Townsville private school fees has revealed all but one school increased its tuition fees in 2020.
Annandale Christian College was the only school to keep fees steady this year with 13 others increasing fees between 1.3-4.9 per cent.
All Souls St Gabriel’s School in Charters Towers kept its primary fees steady while increasing fees for high school students.
The only school to drop any of its fees was Columba Catholic College, also in Charters Towers.
Calvary Christian College and St Patrick’s College increased tuition fees by more than double the Australian inflation rate, which is 1.82 per cent.
On top of tuition fees some parents are having to fork out extra money for contributions to school building funds, locker levies, compulsory lunch costs and even special elective subject levies for hospitality practices, visual arts and even product design.
Cindy and Brad Gugliotti are parents to four girls who all attend private schools in Townsville.
Three girls attend St Patrick’s College and one daughter goes to St Joseph’s Catholic School The Strand.
The combined tuition fees for the four girls cost almost $20,000 a year.
Ms Gugliotti said the family managed their finances to afford the yearly increases.
“Everything goes up and our wages go up so we pay school fees fortnightly,” she said. “It eases the burden of having a massive chunk of money due all at once.”
Ms Gugliotti said she understood the extra levies were part of her girls’
Cindy and Brad Gugliotti with daughters (back) Sarah Robinson, Charlotte Gugliotti, Samantha Gugliotti and (front) Emma Robinson and Mia Robinson.
schooling. “It is just part of the parcel when you do a private education and I expect all of those extra things,” she said.
“We do feel the pinch but it is a decision we have made for the best interest of our girls and we make those sacrifices.”
Out of all the Townsville region schools, only one has decreased its fees this year.
Columba Catholic College in Charters Towers dropped its fees by 12 per cent in 2020 for primary school children and kept their high school tuition steady.
School principal Candi Dempster said the reduction was an acknowledgment of the sign of the tough times the region was going through.
“It is affordability for families in the season in floods and drought and we want to relieve the burden of families so they can maintain and access quality education,” she said.