PARENTS of children with disabilities at a Tamworth school believe that without a full commitment to the Gonski funding agreements, their children’s educational outcomes will suffer, along with the future prospects of the nation.
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They were speaking during a visit from a giant billboard – one of two touring 18 marginal electorates around the country – urging the Coalition to rethink its position on the funding.
The Turnbull government has proposed an alternative funding arrangement for schools, which doesn’t include the final – and most lucrative – two years of the six-year Gonski roll-out negotiated with the states by the former Labor government.
Katrina Webb is president of the P&C at Bullimbal Special School, which caters to children with special needs, and says the argument for the “full Gonski” is clear.
“It makes such a difference to children, especially to our children who have additional needs,” she said.
Now in its third year, the Gonski agreement’s additional funding has provided for the likes of physical, occupational and speech therapists to come into the school and work with the students, Mrs Webb said, helping with their educational outcomes.
“It means a brighter future for our children and gives them so many more opportunities – who wouldn’t want that?” she said.
“I just can’t understand why education isn’t a huge priority ... because they’re our future.”
Correna Haythorpe, president of the Australian Education Union, is travelling with the billboard through NSW and Queensland.
She said she believed education would be one of the issues to decide the result of the July 2 election.
“We can see the benefits of Gonski, the evidence is there,” she said.
“The government says there’s no evidence, but it’s in our schools; it’s in the progress that’s being made by our students.”
Ms Haythorpe said that, considering one in seven 15-year-olds was leaving school with literacy problems, the reasoning behind extra funding for schools was strong and shouldn’t be argued against on the basis of affordability.
“I think education is an investment, not a cost,” she said.
“Education provides the foundation for a successful nation, it breaks the cycle of poverty ... and is to the long-term benefit of us all.”
The billboard was also parked outside New England MP Barnaby Joyce’s office.
