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FRE
November 5, 2013
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Deborah O’Neill to fill vacant Senate seat
Additional $2.3 million in funding for schools T
he NSW government has announced an additional $2.3 million in funding for schools in the Terrigal and Gosford electorates.
The funding will be delivered through the NSW government’s Resource Allocation Model (RAM), which allocates funds based on the characteristics of individual schools and their students. Under the RAM, public schools across the state will benefit from an additional $300 million distributed on the two new loadings for socio-economic and Aboriginal backgrounds. The amount of funding received by each school will differ based on the school’s individual characteristics and at this stage, it is not clear what the exact amount payable to each school will be. $100 million of this funding has been made possible by the Gonski agreement.
Minister for the Central Coast and member for Terrigal Mr Chris Hartcher said the state government has consistently supported the Gonski Report’s key view that regardless of socio-economic factors, every child should have access to the best possible education. “The RAM delivers on this by distributing funding to schools on a needs basis,” Mr Hartcher said. “In 2014, 65 public schools on the Central Coast will receive an additional $6.3 million in funding, taking the total allocation for the Central Coast to over $11 million. “This includes $960,000 in additional funding for the 15 schools in the Terrigal electorate, taking their total allocation to over $1
million.” Member for Gosford Mr Chris Holstein said the RAM gives local principals and school communities a much greater say in how their funding is spent from next year, giving students greater opportunity to succeed. “I welcome the autonomy the RAM is giving principals and school staff, as well as the additional funding marked for schools in the Gosford electorate,” Mr Holstein said. “A total of 21 public schools in the Gosford electorate will receive an additional $1.3 million, taking their total allocation to over $2.2 million. “This includes a significant benefit to the seven schools on the Peninsula who in total will receive almost $1 million in
additional funding.” Minister for Education Mr Adrian Piccoli said the phased implementation of the RAM will give schools the immediate benefit of local resource management and time to develop an increased level of local authority. “Principals will receive practical operational support in managing their school’s resources, and the new system is simpler and less bureaucratic,” Mr Piccoli said. “We are confident that the benefits of more local decision-making based on schools’ knowledge of their students’ needs will be quickly apparent in more effective support for students and in student performance.” Media release, 24 Oct 2013 Scott McGrath, Office of Chris Hartcher MP
Issue 70
ormer member for Robertson Ms Deborah O’Neill has been elected as the Labor nominee to fill the Senate seat vacated by Bob Carr.
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On Wednesday, October 30, the party’s Administrative Committee voted in a ballot 35 to 1 to elected Ms O’Neill to fill the role until 2020. “I am incredibly humbled to accept this responsibility to again represent the people of the Central Coast and NSW,” Ms O’Neill said. Ms O’Neill highlighted education and regional jobs and services as her priorities in entering the Senate. “We know that people in our regions don’t have access to the same opportunities that our city cousins do in health, education and jobs,” she said.
“We can’t afford to let our regions suffer and we need to make sure they have a strong voice in the federal parliament. “I look forward to fighting to ensure that the people of the Central Coast, and across NSW, get the few promises made by Mr Abbott in the lead up to the election.” While Ms O’Neill wants to get on with the job, the NSW parliament must first ratify the decision. Media release, 30 Oct 2013 Richard Mehrtens, Office of Deborah O’Neill