MANDURAH MLA David Templeman has started a flyer campaign to warn parents about the “savage” cuts to the State education budget.
Mr Templeman said he sent out the flyers “to ensure families are well aware of the savage cuts to education imposed on local schools by the Barnett Government”.
“A number of Mandurah schools have programs that have been affected by these cuts.
“These programs include literacy and numeracy support and behaviour management programs – some of which are targeted at our most vulnerable kids.”
Mr Templeman said the figures were calculated on the amount expected to be spent per student and multiplied by the number of students at each school.
According to the flyer, Meadow Springs Primary School will lose $276,025, Coodanup Community College will lose $226,463 and Riverside Primary School will lose $176,290.
“Schools will also have to pay for leave loading for staff from their own budget,” Mr Templeman said.
“The leave loading component in each school’s cut figure is dependant on the number of staff, so for some schools it can be $25,000 but for bigger schools it can be up to $35,000.
“Never before have schools had to pay for leave loading out of their own budget and these cuts are not one-off – they will occur every year.”
The flyers included a prepaid feedback form for residents to write their details on and post back to Mr Templeman if the oppose the cuts.
“So that I can tell Premier Barnett in the Parliament how many of you oppose these cuts please register now,” the flyer said.
“Colin Barnett’s harsh cuts to your local school are having a direct impact on their ability to keep delivering first-class education to your kids.”
However, Education Minister Peter Collier said expenditure on education had increased from $2.8billion to an estimated $4.4billion in 2013-14.
“Over the next few years, increased demand for services mean it is vital that every available resource is used to best effect,” Mr Collier said.
“It is not sustainable or appropriate to simply increase expenditure at the same rate each year without reviewing how money is allocated to ensure the best value for each education dollar.
Mr Collier said changes to the system would be made by introducing a student-centred funding model in 2015 and changing school resourcing allocations this year.
“The Government acknowledges that these changes may present challenges for some schools and that not all programs will be able to continue in their current form,” Mr Collier said.
“However, our schools are well resourced and will continue to be well resourced.”
Mr Templeman said he had received more than 50 responses from residents “outraged at the cuts” since Monday.
“Very few parents are aware of exactly how much has been cut from their children's school and the last area we should be cutting in Mandurah is education,” he said.
Mr Templeman said he had already raised the issue in Parliament on Tuesday.
“Improving education outcomes for our children in Mandurah is the single most important way we can address the range of social and economic challenges our City and region faces,” he said.
“Better education outcomes will see improved employment opportunities, greater participation and a much more positive future for all of us."
Mr Templeman said he expected “a few hundred” flyers to be returned from people opposing the cuts.
