Hasbeeb; I'm referring to current 21st century society.

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This deserves highlighting >>>>

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"... the amount given by governments to run Victorian Catholic schools each year is over $50 million dollars more than that given to similar government schools.

" ... Some Catholic schools do "sit shoulder to shoulder with government schools" in disadvantaged areas but they actually enrol kids who, even in those areas, are more advantaged. Anyone with the time can check this on My School.

"But his biggest error is his claim that Victorian Catholic schools still operate on 10% less resources than government schools. If he is referring to recurrent funding (he doesn't say); this is not the case. My School shows that, when you compare groups of schools enrolling similar students - a far more honest comparison - Catholic schools operate on a net recurring income per student which is mostly higher than that available to government schools.

"The reality is that the availability of school data on My School has started to change the debate. Mr Elder needs to catch up."

Posted by bunyip, Monday, 20 April 2015 10:57:28 AM

"Surely I, as a tax paying citizen, deserve the benefit of government funds to educate my children just as much as my next door neighbours who chooses to send their children to a public school.

"Isn’t that the issue here. Choice.

"And if we then agree that every family should benefit from some of their tax dollars assisting their children’s education then what is wrong with those dollars being guaranteed to allow the schools we chose to plan for the future.

"I don’t know much about the politics of the AEU but I do know that everyone has to be in this together."

Posted by Anthony Dunstall, Monday, 20 April 2015 9:12:20 PM

Except everyone isn't in this together: the Catholic church gets a lot of kudos for having a 'strong' independent education system.

It's not just a case of a families tax dollars going back to that family: some families taxes don't cover their childrens' education, and some families pay tax in excess of others. It's pooled funds, and

as Bunyip's post highlights, the pooled funds do not seem to be being distributed equitably.

It is worth noting that much primary schooling was initiated by church groups of various denominations, my own distant relative Mary MacKillop being my favourite.
The bigoted actions of such notables as Sir Henry Parkes led to the destruction of most of the Church schooling in NSW with the exception of the Catholics who resented Sir Henry's attacks on their religion and their efforts to educate working class children.

Sir Henry, judicial murderer, philanderer and Father of Federation has left a not quite unstained legacy.

As chair of the Victorian Catholic Schools Parents' Body I wholeheartedly support the sentiment behind Stephen Elder's defence of our schools' right to fair funding for all students.

We seek State and Federal government funding because it's so important that parents have the opportunity to choose a school for their child.

Catholic education is an integral part of that choice based upon what will best suit their family, their values, their child's needs and abilities and their desire to belong to a Catholic community firmly based within its local community.

Politics aside, it is our expectation as parents that Catholic education will always be an affordable option through fair and equitable funding.