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Collapse Issue 422 - 26 Jun 2017Issue 422 - 26 Jun 2017
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Liberal funding advert 'hugely inflated', say teachers
Council refuses caravan park expansion
Police tell riders to wait till dawn
Bob Puffett to stand for council
Community plan generated in Pearl Beach
State Budget shows little care for the Peninsula
More buses on route 64
No sign of road funding, says Tesch
National parks suffer from Budget, says association
Action against former Gosford Council staff not ruled out
Proposal to build childcare centre in Booker Bay
Community Group makes submission to Council
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Missing children found
Young Australian of the Year addresses Rotary clubs
CWA hall painted for first time in 40 years
Grant to Mingaletta
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Co-working space to open in Umina
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Audit outcome - more about appearance than substance
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What about the cars and nurturing the plants
'Ex-employee' answers council inquiry
I will fight for the Peninsula
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Aged care provider surveys the community
Hospital hosts free exercise classes
Talk about diets for autistic children
Flown to Royal North Shore
Donations to funeral costs
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Calling young Peninsula artists
Photographic competition at Patonga
Locals win regional photo competition
Lord of the Strings at folk club
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Gonski billboard visits schools
Band performs eight songs
Students visit wildlife park
Excursion for World Environment Day
Parade was case of 'happily ever after'
Celebrating Naidoc Week
Horse riding for special students
Pyjama day
School raises more than $500
Students attend netball cup
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Surf clubs take out major awards
Junior floorball open held on Peninsula
Gym coach to perform in Denmark
Lions defeated by Terrigal at Woy Woy
Katelyn returns from Thailand with placings
English soccer club to hold coaching camp
Umina bowling championship
Major singles
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When Woy Woy controlled its own destiny

Liberal funding advert 'hugely inflated', say teachers

Liberal Party has advertised that Woy Woy's secondary college campus will receive twice as much it will actually receive, according to Teachers Federation members at the campus.

The advertisement in the June 13 edition of Peninsula News claimed that Brisbane Water Secondary College Woy Woy campus would receive an extra $14.9 million, implying a similar amount would be received by Umina campus.

Ettalong Woy Woy Teachers Federation president Mr Christopher Wright said: "Because it is one college with two campuses, Brisbane Water Secondary College receives its funding in one sum.

"This means that the Liberal Party has advertised a hugely inflated figure of $14.9 million of additional funding for Woy Woy Campus alone."

He said it could be "deliberately misleading information in the Liberal Party advertisement to make the funding sound more impressive".

Alternatively, local Liberal Party representatives did not know "the school names and student numbers of the schools in their local learning community".

Mr Wright said that the advertisement stated that the Liberals would deliver "fully-funded, needs-based funding".

"Whatever the phrase 'fully funded needs based funding', as used in the Liberal Party advertisements, means to the Liberal Party, it is certainly not equivalent in meaning to fully funded needs based funding according to the National Education Reform Agreement.

Over 2018 and 2019, the college would receive a total increase in funding of $499,302.

"If the National Education Reform Agreement (the previously agreed Gonski funding model) were to be honoured by the Federal Government, then over the same two years Brisbane Water Secondary College would have received an increase in funding of $2.3 million."

Mr Wright said the figures quoted of $14.9 million "in additional funding" for Brisbane Water Secondary College Woy Woy Campus and $5.8 million for Umina Beach Public School were based upon the Australian Government's School Funding Estimator.

Both NSW Minister of Education Mr Rob Stokes and NSW Departmental Secretary Mr Mark Scott had stated it should not be relied upon because the basis of the estimate was unknown, he said.

"That there are some inaccuracies on the school funding estimator website is certain.

"For example, the Umina Campus of Brisbane Water Secondary College is not mentioned at all.

"Umina Beach Public School is inaccurately named.

"What other inaccuracies there may be in the school funding estimator is unknown."

Mr Wright also questioned the assumptions behind the estimate.

"The time period for this 'additional funding' for the two schools mentioned is not specified in the Liberal Party advertisements.

"On the estimator website an increase of only $243,800 is listed for Woy Woy Campus and $95,800 for Umina Beach Public School in 2018.

"This certainly looks less impressive than the 10-year increase figures cited of $14.9 million and $5.8 million respectively.

"These 10- year figures are simply determined by assuming that funding per school would otherwise remain completely static at the 2017 amount for the entire following decade.

"Furthermore, given that a 10-year period is much longer than the Federal political cycle, it is also conceivable that, like the final years of the National Education Reform Agreement funding, some years of this iteration of school funding may never see the light of day.

"These considerations make the cited figures of $14.9 million and $5.8 million not especially meaningful.

Mr Wright said: "As teachers, we care about the education of our students.

"We are concerned about the Federal Government's new policy on schools funding and in particular how our public schools will be disadvantaged by this policy.

"We support the full implementation of the National Education Reform Agreement's model of needs based school funding."

Teachers Federation members of the Woy Woy campus have unanimously passed a motion condemning the use of the College's name for party-political purposes.

"We condemn the association of Brisbane Water Secondary College Woy Woy Campus with misleading information about school funding, as occurred in the Liberal Party advertisement published in the Peninsula News on June 13," the motion said.

"We reject any implication by political parties that our College supports or should support a funding model that will deliver significant funding cuts to the students of the Peninsula."

The motion was passed unanimously on June 15.

Mr Wright said he had written to the Prime Minister, Mr Malcolm Turnbull, Senator Arthur Sinodinos and the Member for Robertson, Ms Lucy Wicks, about the advertisements published in the Peninsula News.

The advertisements were booked and paid for by the office of Senator Sinodinos.





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