2011-2011 Public Education Budget

Public education has been protected from the worst of Budget cutbacks by the outcomes of Arbitration.

The Minister for Education has effectively guaranteed the funding of pre-Budget announcements and all decisions around wages, workload and working conditions won in Arbitration. Nevertheless, there are Budget "nasties" that will affect DECS and TAFE members.

The following is a summary of the main positive points:

• An extra 700 teachers and support staff in schools and preschools at a cost of $265 million over four years.
  
  

• Measures to reduce the administrative burden on school leaders in managing information technology in schools.
  
  

• Targetted SSO support for children in Special Classes.A long overdue overhaul of school bus services to provide quality transport for young people in regional communities.
  
  

• An extra $10.6 million over four years to improve SACE operations, and an extra $5.9 million over four years for additional assessment and moderation activities associated with Stages 1 and 2 of the new SACE.
  
  

• Funding for Budget pre-announcements (eg expansion of four metropolitan high schools with specialist learning, rebuilding of six Special Schools at mainstream schools, support for specialist Mathematics and Science teachers).

Negatives include:

• Threats to long service leave accrual rates and annual leave loading across the public sector.
• Discontinuation of Adult Re-entry programs for students 21 years of age and older.
• Scrapping of the rental assistance program in certain major Regional Centres and within 100km of Adelaide.
• Amalgamations of co-located schools.
• Cessation of continuous intake in the preschool and Reception years.
• Reduction of above-entitlement support for multi and dual campus schools.
• Abolition of additional Small School grants.

• Reduction in TRT supplementation.
• Cuts to the preventative maintenance program.

The AEU will meet with other Public Sector Unions on Monday to discuss a combined response to the issues of long service leave and leave loading. The announcement of threats to these entitlements occurred on the same day that State politicians (with some honourable exceptions) voted to award themselves increases in their superannuation rates from 9% to 15.4%!

In conclusion, it is apparent that education has not suffered to the extent that the (carefully orchestrated?) Budget leaks suggested might be the case, and is, in fact, better served by the Budget than many other Government Departments.

In dealing with the "nasties", we should draw lessons from the success of our membership campaigning in support of our Enterprise Bargaining claims and Arbitration outcomes.

Further information will be circulated as it becomes available.