Page 84 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 16 February 1993
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Section 4: Expenditure on Public Schools
Expenditure on schooling in the Australian Capital Territory is expected to grow by only 1.59 per cent in 1992-93. This movement is in keeping with the ACT Governments overall budget savings strategy.
Expenditure on ACT public schools is estimated to grow by 1.77 per cent with growth restricted to the salaries area. Other areas are expected to decline overall. Expenditure O-Li non-govemment schooling ;-Vill grow slightly, by 0.93 per cent, with decreases in the salaries and administrative areas. The grants to schools area will grow by 1.98 per cent.
The ACT public education sector budget base underwent changes during the 1991-92 financial year. Funding was transferred to the Corporate Services Bureau for the personnel, staffing, computing, registry and other functions previously included in the Departments budget. This amounted to $4.5 million, or approximately $106 per student. Other functions were transferred to the Chief Ministers Department, involving a further $0.5 million.
The full-year effects of budget strategy savings in the 1990-9f budget also contributed to the general decrease in per student expenditures. This decrease was in the order of $0.8 million.
Other influences on the general decrease in expenditures include the removal of one-off funding of minor plant and equipment and a backlog of repairs and maintenance expenditure in 1990-91.
The net effect of these budgetary changes has been to show per student costs as lower than in previous years.
Per Student Costs 1990-91 and 1991-92
Sector 1990-91 1991-92
P.-esciiools 1,990 Primary 4,380 High Schools 5,460
Colleges 5,640
1;950 4,290 5,290 5,730
While expenditure has decreased in the preschool, primary and high school sectors several sectoral features have combined to increase per student expenditures in colleges.
The college sector has only 17 per cent of enrolments, but also has the highest proportion of Advanced Skills Teachers (over 35 per cent).
Capital is a highly variable factor of per student costs and the decrease in capital expenditure was less in colleges than in the other two sectors. The difference between the sectors in the 1991-9y_ financial year has combined with the effects mentioned above to impact markedly on the inter-sectoral results
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