In 2024, John XXIII College in Mount Claremont received 126 per cent of its SRS and $8,870,703 in federal funding – by 2029 that amount will be just more than $7 million.
Others also receiving more than 100 per cent of the SRS as of 2023 include All Saints’ College (102 per cent), Guildford Grammar School (104 per cent), Hale School (115 per cent), Penrhos (107 per cent), Perth College (115 per cent) and Wesley College (109 per cent).
Association of Independent Schools WA managing director Chris Massey said the non-government school sector was essential for easing the overall demand on public funds for education, allowing resources to be directed to areas of need.
“The non-government school sector receives significantly less government funding compared to public schools,” he said.
“The sacrifices made by our parents and families through school fees towards the cost of non-government schooling delivers significant savings to the Government and therefore less of a burden on taxpayers.”
The data also shows parents at the above-mentioned schools also earn median incomes of between $240,000 and $298,000.
Economist and public education advocate Trevor Cobbold, a former Productivity Commission economist who now runs public education advocacy group Save Our Schools, said indexation would offset the SRS reduction for most transitioning schools.
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“Only a small minority will actually have their funding reduced, and this is overdue because they have long been overfunded by millions by the taxpayer at the expense of better funding for disadvantaged public schools,” he said.
For most non-government schools the capacity of the parents and carers of students to contribute financially to the operating costs of the school will influence the base amount.
The federal government pays 80 per cent of each private school’s SRS benchmark, and the states pay the rest.
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