Page 656 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 1990
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The issue of school based management has been high on some agendas in recent months. The Alliance Government is firmly committed to the view that, as far as possible, schools should manage their own affairs and that all elements of the school community should have a voice in decision making at the school level. In this way parents, teachers and students can have a real influence on education programs and services. It is for this reason that the Government intends to give greater financial and administrative responsibility to schools. School boards are a valuable and well established feature of our public school system; it is appropriate that they be given greater control over decisions that affect them.
During 1990 the Government will be developing further proposals for financial and other devolution to schools, and establishing necessary support arrangements within the Department of Education. There will be extensive consultation with boards and interested groups before any arrangements are implemented. Issues which have been raised already will be addressed in the planning and development process. Because changes in responsibility and work practices may be involved, unions will be consulted extensively.
In relation to award restructuring, teachers and other Department of Education staff have received a first-stage increase in salary under guidelines issued by the Industrial Relations Commission in August of last year. In the second stage of this process, departmental management and unions are seeking negotiated agreements within these guidelines on structural efficiencies to be considered by the department and the commission. A number of issues are being considered. They include probation procedures, teacher mobility, school based management, revision of the permanent part-time work award, and the introduction of an advanced skills teacher classification.
Negotiations have begun with the public sector unions to align the schools assistants award more closely with the administrative services officer structure. All other staff employed by the department will be included in the ACT-wide negotiations coordinated by the Office of Industry and Development and led by the Commonwealth Department of Industrial Relations as part of the APS award restructuring package.
The Government's objective is to achieve the best salary structure possible for teachers and other staff, consistent with an effective award restructuring agreement which will promote increased efficiency and effectiveness within the ACT public school system. This will need to be achieved within a negotiating framework which recognises the Government's financial constraints, related negotiations in other education systems, and the Commission's guidelines. We envisage the completion of all negotiations during the current financial year.
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