Local Schools to Share in $6,573,898 in Funding

Public schools in the Oatley electorate will benefit from a share of the record $113 million in additional funding announced by the NSW Government to support public school students who need it most.

Member for Oatley Mark Coure said the needs-based funding, which has been implemented as part of the NSW Liberals commitment to the Gonski agreement, is delivering more funding to students in a fair and transparent way.

“In 2016, local public schools will receive $6,573,898,” Mr Coure said.

“This substantial ongoing investment in public education is fantastic news for our schools, and will further boost their efforts to deliver improved student results.

The funding for 2016, made possible by NSW being the first state to sign the Gonski agreement, means NSW students will benefit from needs-based funding totalling $860 million, distributed through the Resource Allocation Model.

Examples of local needs-based funding allocations in Oatley include Georges River College:

· The Oatley Campus will receive $866,164, which is an increase of almost $70,000 on 2015;

· The Peakhurst Campus will receive $663,497, which is an increase of over $109,000 on 2015; and

· The Penshurst Girls Campus will receive $527,702.

Local primary school allocations include:

· Penshurst Public School School which will receive $559,818, an increase of over $64,000 on 2015;

· Peakhurst Public School which will receive $479,359, an increase of almost $104,000; and

· Narwee Public School which will receive $444,517, an almost $80,000 increase.

Mr Coure said he couldn’t be happier with this great result for the schools and families of Oatley, “Individual school principals will use this needs-based funding in a variety of ways, including employing speech pathologists or specialist teachers to target learning areas,” he said.

As a result of NSW signing up to the Gonski agreement, the NSW Government has also been able to deliver resources to improve the quality of teaching, provide more school counsellors and improve support for beginning teachers.