Public school site may go private

I grew on a housing commission estate on the North Coast I went to a Catholic Private School so lets not kid ourselves that only ‘good families’ can afford private school.

In saying that my wife is a teacher in the public system, needless to say our kids will be doing public. Its a choice thing, some choose it some don’t. My personal belief is that it would be far greater for individual schools that more parents chose to pay their voluntary contirbution rather than just saying ‘nah school is a freebie for my kids’.

I doubt that there is anyone (outside the froot loops of academic economics) who would challenge GnT’s comment. We, as a society, should provide good quality schools for all students, including those whose parents could not give a rat’s patootie. And so we do, at considerable cost – ACT government schools are pretty good by any standard.

But, we should also recognise that there is a public interest in education and be prepared to foster educational choices for those who want them. The number of such people is growing (at present, I think it will drop at some point) and it would be a crazy government that ignored this end of the population. From some burbling on RN earlier this week, I think the total public commitment (Commonwealth plus state/territory) is c $10k pa for each government school student and c $5k pa for a non-gov student.

There’s something to be said for an education voucher, to be spent wherever the parent chooses.

Ouch.. waiting for Nyssa to bite that fish.

About this argument that poor parents can send their kids to private school if they work hard enough. Let’s think of things from the kids’ perspective. Let’s say you are unlucky enough to be born into a family that doesn’t give a crap about you. Maybe your parents are druggies, maybe they’re just losers, and almost certainly they’re poorly educated themselves. Is this the kid’s fault?

Kid’s are innocent. They do not always deserve the circumstances they find themselves in. We should be able to provide ALL children with quality free public education.

I’m interested to see what the church group is going to do to ‘upgrade’ this ‘falling-down’ school. IMHO besa brick is a pretty hardy material, and that school will still be standing, as is, in another 20 years.

Only difference is, in 20 years the government will be whingeing about not being able to build a public school in the area on account of there being no land available. (discounting the super-school of course, on account of it’s going to fail the instant some high school student knifes a preschooler and it hits mainstream news)

I agree with DeeJay. I have seen a lot of fee reductions/waivers in private schools, usually those at the bg-normal end of the market.

As wll, I have an impression (no more than that) that a lot of government school teachers send their kids to private schools. Perhaps it’s just the ones I know, or perhaps there’s a good reason like making sure the kid gets out of his/her parents’ faces for a while each day. Anyone got a comment? It’s probably not a good look, but may be reasonable on balance.

Actually, my son has always been in private schools, including for six years that I was on benefits. I worked my ass off for it in various ways (part time work, volunteering as trade-off, etc), and yes, I got some fee relief some of the time. Nor was I the only one. He is now in the private system on his own merits (on scholarship). So there certainly are welfare kids in the private system.

The point isn’t that all private school kids are well off. It is that no private school kids are on welfare or have druggy parents etc. All those on the bottom of the ladder are at public schools.

For that reason, schools need to be available (eg – within a long but reasonable walk) in every area, as some kids are never going to private school, so there need to be public schools for them. Think of it as saving your taxes, if the second generation does better than their parents.

Oh god now I can’t spell Chardonnay …. god I hate it when I rant…….

But this poor bugger me give me something as long as someone else pays crap steams me

My experience is that there are many good kids from poorer families that make decisions to invest in their children and do without for their kids…. don’t make the chardonney socialist claim that only rich families (or as you said “good families”) send their kids to private schools.

My experience with state and private schools is that while there are some exceptional (really spectatular) teachers in the state system – but they are been held back by those who have given up or are just marking time. The difference once my son and daughter went into the private school was like chalk and cheese. I have not met one time waster in two years.

If you want to send your kid to a smaller school that fine – but why should I pay more taxes to help you make that choice? I would rather my hard earned dollar was used saving babies in hospital, or helping someone get an education that CANNOT afford it – not your ideological lifestyle choices.

So get your head out and just accept that some parents make decisions and they get less from the public purse

Private schools do not take the pressure off the system. They cream off the good students from the good families. This in no way helps the public schools to deal with the remainder.

And small schools are usually very good schools. I would rather my child was nurtured in a small school with limited subject options, but great committed teachers, than went to a super-school with all sorts of languages etc on offer, and got bashed up every lunch time.

it would also help if I used the right their / there…..I went to both state and private schools……who will blame whom????????????????? lol

Wether they are federal or state I don’t care … but hold the responsible government responsible.

I am sooooooooo sick of hearing states and territories blaming the feds for things that are there responsibility. It would be like nelson blaming the state governments for stuff up by defence.

If I hear one more premier / chief minister bleat about a lack of national leadership for a state responsibility I will explode!!!

How did we get a federal dept of education that does run a school? or a dept of health that doesn’t run a hospital? A lack of state delivery… I dare anyone to name one thing that the state governements actually run well.

The Federal Liberal Government is the one that undermines the public education system in this country.
Comment by MrMagoo — 23 August, 2007 @ 2:15 pm

My understanding is that the level of Aus Government investment in public schools is directly related to state funding (that is, if states increase their funding, the Aus Gov component increases automatically).

Then on top of that you get the individual Aus Gov grants programmes to schools.

Seems to me the state governments decide how to spend the money they receive for schools.

I think we should have a national school system, to cut down the massive overhead of running so many state education departments.

Stop the left bullshitery… private school takes pressure off the system and if some parents want to pay extra tax on their children then good luck … get off your arses and work hard for your families and stop waiting for others to do what you should.

This is Canberra, we have more cash and are more educated. It doesn’t surprise that families are forking out the bucks for the chance for their young pups to get a shot at an education that doesn’t exsist in the current public system. If a gap exsists private industries will exploit that neiche to make some bucks. Dont blame the public system, if anything blame the former govts for allowing this situation to get out of hand and them now having to rationalise a service that has gone untended for years.

Recycling an underused government school as a non-govt one that demand exists for (or they wouldn’t be looking to open a 2nd campus) seems to me an entirely rational thing to do, providing the price paid by Emmaus is right.

Get over it. ACT government schools are ok, at least as well-funded and well-equipped as their counterparts interstate and most medium level private schools. Nonetheless, the punters are walking out, preferring a good service they have to pay for to a good service they can get for nothing. They’re not wrong – they’re making what they think is the best decision for their families.

Inevitably, some government schools will get closed. It’s stupid to run a school that can offer no choice to its students because there are just not enough of them. I think the expression “critical mass” may be relevant here. It will be better/more efficient for those schools to continue as schools than to be used as vandalism sites before being replaced by houses, shops and offices.

Thumper I don’t agree with everything they do, but its better than the alternative. My other half works in education and the info on enrolment numbers and asbestos came from that direction not from a Stanhope government Press Release.

However, if the ACT taxpayers want to continue to pay for under used, unsuitable or plain outdated infrastrucutre then vote Liberal at the 08 Territory Election.

The Federal Liberal Government is the one that undermines the public education system in this country. The ACT government closed ‘some’ schools that were not economically viable and had diminsihed enrolments. One or two of the closed sites also posed a health risk as they were built in an era of asbestos. If full fee paying schools wish to operate they can do so as they have a commercial bottom line. Lets remember that the rabble that used to run this Territory had a similar plan to close schools but it has so easily been forgotten in the haste to rebuke the Standhope Government.

Here’s a plan – retain a few of the closed public schools as kiddie fitness centres. Solve the obesity crisis, and leave them available to reopen in 5 years when the current baby boom kiddies are ready for school.

The ACT Govt continues to undermine the feasability of public schools, while giving private schools a leg up. If we all just paid a little more tax (or if they used our taxes a little more effectively) we would have a great public system.