Funding should be based on need

YOU would have heard a lot out of Canberra over the last couple of weeks about school funding.

I want to explain why education funding matters to me and should matter to you and your children.

Under Labor's Gonski reforms, funding was to be based on need.

Schools would get a set amount of funding per student and then there were additional loadings in place for students that need additional support.

These loadings would have gone to help students in our community with a disability, indigenous students, remote schools, students with limited English and students from a disadvantaged background.

In Rankin, this additional funding is much needed.

With over 1500 indigenous students in the area and almost 6000 students from a non- English speaking background, it could be put to good use.

Unfortunately, as you may have seen, the new government has not committed to these much-needed changes and there is no guarantee against future cuts.

The new Education Minister has promised some money but he has not committed to a needs-based funding, which means we will likely see a return to the unfair funding distribution introduced during the Howard era which sold local students short.

That's not good enough.

I will always fight for fairer education funding for Rankin and that means extra money for disadvantaged kids.

First published in the Logan Reporter on December 13, 2013 and online.

#loganreporter #schools