Email Template
Tuesday 20th June 2017
Dear Senator Name,
We are writing to express our concerns at the proposals contained in the Australian Education Amendment Bill 2017 on behalf of the (Catholic school name).
This morning our schools were informed, “further independent analysis of the proposed Bill revealed significant confusion when it was revealed that Catholic schools will be $3.1billion or $4.6 billion worse off over the next decade under the Government’s new plan.”
This has raised our concerns about an increase to fees or cut back on valued programs to keep pace with the rising costs of education. We also understand that services to students with disability will be inadequately funded.
As parents of children in Catholic schools, we understand that Catholic education is provided out of a sense of mission, not to make a profit. This includes opening their doors to asylum seeker and refugee families. Many Catholic schools reduce (or in special circumstances, waive fees) to assist those already struggling families. It is these families and many more who are most likely to be impacted by these Government changes who will potentially be forced to move into the Government system.
We are concerned that if the current funding is replaced with a system centred around school SES status scores, parent capacity to contribute towards fees will be reduced, particularly for many families who already make sacrifices so they can educate their children in a Catholic school.
As Catholic school parents, we expect to pay fees and families in our school communities spend countless hours volunteering to raise funds to improve our schools without asking for handouts from the government. We also know that the Catholic school system has always sought to make a values-based education as accessible as possible to all children, no matter their background – particularly at a primary level – spreading the load to ensure fees remained as affordable as possible.
We are concerned at the future funding of services to students with disability under the government’s proposals. The proposal that the collection of data on students with disability relies on surveys filled out by school principals and teachers, not assessment by medical professionals raises many alarms in terms of accuracy and impact on families, particularly children involved.
We urge the Senate to delay passing of the legislation to enable a review of the model, further consultation with each sector and for fair funding measures that protect parent choice and address the significant equity issues for less affluent families and students with disability in Catholic schools.
Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.
Yours sincerely,
Parent Name
School Board Chair, School Name