Sacred Heart College Yarrawonga Principal Lew Nagle said only twelve per cent of families who send their children to his school will benefit from the $400 School Savings Bonus.
A staggering 87% of Catholic School families will miss out on the $400 School Savings Bonus announced in this month’s Victorian State Budget.
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In a move described as “unjust” by Executive Director of Catholic Education Sandhurst Ms Kate Fogarty, the majority of Catholic School families will miss out on this much-needed support across 56 schools in the Sandhurst Diocese, which educate 20,000 (1 in 5) students.
“Our families also face cost-of-living pressures, however, only those who hold healthcare cards (approximately 13%) are eligible for the program,” Ms Fogarty said.
Not fair: Executive director of Catholic Education Sandhurst Kate Fogarty is speaking out about unfair treatment of catholic schools. Photo: Supplied.
“Like government schools, the majority of our Catholic School families fall within the low and middle-income brackets. Despite being taxpayers, they have been excluded from this initiative.”
Sacred Heart College Yarrawonga Principal Lew Nagle said he was very disappointed with the Premier’s announcement.
“Our data illustrates that only 12% of our families will benefit from the state government’s initiative, which is not means tested,” Mr Nagle said.
“Clearly, the need for relief from cost of living pressures extends beyond 12% of taxpayers in our community who chose to send their children to Catholic or independent schools.
“The announcement follows a recent trend of policy making that discriminates against schools in the Catholic sector including paid teaching rounds for pre-service teachers if they choose placement in a government school.”
Ms Fogarty emphasised the need for equitable support across all educational sectors.
“We believe the payment should apply to all students or be means-tested for everyone. It should not be based on the school attended,” she said.
Ms Fogarty also pointed out that thousands of parents in regional Victoria are left wondering why the Victorian Government refuses to assist them with their cost-of-living pressures while allocating funds to families in Melbourne’s wealthiest suburbs.
“I call on the Victorian Government to treat all Victorians equally when deciding which school families receive financial support for cost-of-living pressures.
“Our sector will urgently seek a meeting with the government to better understand why Catholic school families have been treated unfairly, and I will personally be requesting a meeting with Premier Jacinta Allan, who is the local member for Bendigo East, where eight of our Catholic Schools are situated,” she concluded.
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