Judgement Day

[freediver]

It is only double charging--your words--SOME parents.

Exactly. If it was all parents, it wouldn't be double charging. Or at least, it would be a meaningless statement.

A lot of private schools are religious, so we are subsidising religion

Religion is free. It is the education you are 'subsidising'. But in fact it is not subsidising. How could it possibly be a subsidy if it saves the government money? Or to put it differently, all education is subsidised. Public gets a 100% subsidy. Private gets far less, but gives more in return. If all education is subsidised and private education saves the government money, thereby allowing it to provide more funds to publicly educated students, then what is the problem? You want to end one subsidy and replace it with an even bigger subsidy so that everyone is worse off.

Private school students get coached intensively

And this is a bad thing? It is a better education.

but they then explode at Uni or at work

Bullshit. I attended both public and private high schools. Private school students work harder. They make a habit of it. They are no more likely to go off the rails at Uni.

Our public schools need money spent on them

Ending private school subsidies will make them worse off. Do you really want that, in the name of imposed equality? Do you really want to lower the standard of everyone's education, just so all kids get an equally bad education?

[Jovial Monk]

Hahahaha

I think we need some equality of public funding. Don't think we are getting it, but subtle moves that way. Likely some nutter schools will not accept a subsidy if they have to teach normal stuff. Funding is only a 1% increase on last year, a cut in real terms.

Don't like that an Exclusive Brethren school with less than 300 students gets a subsidy of $12K per year per kid. Better uses for that money

[Jovial Monk]

And nowhere do I say I want anyone to have a bad education, arsehole!

[Hebe]

I attended both public and private high schools. Private school students work harder. They make a habit of it. They are no more likely to go off the rails at Uni.

So did I, and now have the dubious privilege of being an Old Girl. What really shits me is the constant barrage of begging letters I get from my old private school for their new:

sports grounds, swimming-pools, gyms, rowing shells etc.

art room/library/chapel/theatre or similar

labs and other equipment that state schools can only dream about

places for the students to spend adventure holidays

I have no particular loyalty to this school. I gave them a bit of academic glory when I was there, they got paid. We're quits.

I do think I got an excellent education there, and being at a girls' school suited me, but my sister went to a state school (by choice) and she got an excellent education there.

At Uni, there was great equality in going off the rails. And no particular bias in results

[freediver]

I think we need some equality of public funding.

that would increase private school funding, not decrease it.

And nowhere do I say I want anyone to have a bad education, arsehole!

Yet your suggestions would make that inevitable. Or at least, it would make a worse education inevitable. Less would be spent on each child's education. You don't seem to get that each child in a private school actually saves the government money.

[mantra.]

Less would be spent on each child's education. You don't seem to get that each child in a private school actually saves the government money.

I wouldn't be too sure of that FD. If the feral Bretheren do receive approx. $12,000 per child - the whole Federal & State allocation per child in a public school is only $8,000. It would be interesting to see the real figures. There are other grants and tax benefits that the parents of kids who go to private schools get and you need to also take into consideration the rorting that has taken place over the last few years where many private schools have lied about the numbers of enrolments. We have also found out since that there is an overpayment problem with the government formula used and this is also going to remain unchanged for the time being.

Public schools are held accountable for every cent they spend, yet private schools are not obliged to disclose to either the state or federal government what they use their funding for.

[Jovial Monk]

Absolutely, be fascinating to see just who gets how much, how they spend it and what results they get. Think a few parents will decided junior can go to public school next year

$28Bn for private schools! That is a mozza! HM do the state governments add to this subsidy?

[boxy]

I think that schools run by the exclusive brethren are a different matter to most private schools.

There is a slow curve between religion and becoming a cult, but the EB step well over that line, for mine.

I can't wait for the scientologists to set up their own private schools... surely scientology is the biggest practical joke to ever be started, and get out of control by idiots (with far too much influence) taking it seriously!