Rooftop tennis courts and Olympic pools: private schools’ multimillion-dollar arms race
Posted by gccmelb
Rooftop tennis courts and Olympic pools: private schools’ multimillion-dollar arms race
Posted by gccmelb
18 Comments
Someone remind why we give private schools super generous tax breaks?
Yeah just focus on energy for now. About to run out of everything. Tennis courts won’t be top of mind soon
Fuck private schools.
Obscene. Meanwhile, poorly paid public school teachers are paying for things for their students out of their own pockets because the schools are so underfunded.
We have schools with demountables and also schools that can’t even afford to have multiple textbooks.
Yet these schools get courts and pools?
Reminder that certain schools have large backings that are filthy rich.
Churches have large investments in shares and property. They don’t need tax reductions to help run their schools.
*Instead of giving these schools fancy architecturally designed halls and libraries, bring all schools up to standard with the quality of their facilities.*
Some will say *but these schools reduce demand on public schools*, yeah, but they’ll still exist without so much government funding.
Bring on the teachers strike. But make the government pay them from the money they withhold from these private schools. MANY of which are religious indoctrination for students
Better hand them some more government money by the sound of it. How else will they afford all this stuff?
Our local public high school has not had the gym upgraded since it was built in the 70s but ok.
Their land capital is worth so much they can do this without sneezing. Let alone their benefactors. This is likely related to a post covid splurge as it seems to correlate their similar spending all around the same time.
If no one paid to go…. This wouldn’t be the case! Nonetheless, competition in boys schools appears greater than girls only. Sadly, if your priv school isn’t partaking in capital development you’d have to assume something is wrong…
I have absolutely no issue with them spending this much. What I do have an issue with is how much money the government pours into them compared to public schools
Can’t even get aircon in my nephews public high school. DET kept denying the work orders. P&C had to fundraise for aircon themselves.
In 2024, MLC received $5,118 in funding per student from the federal & state governments, even though average fees are $37,540. MLC does not need that government funding.
[Source](https://myschool.edu.au/school/46144/finances)
Given private schools contribute about 8 billion to the Victorian economy we kinda need them
Meanwhile, public school teachers will be on strike next week due to chronic under funding of public school, and the lowest teachers wages in the country – wages which have been going backwards for years due to not keeping up with inflation.
It’s pretty crazy that almost 15 years ago the Gonski review into school funding specified the *minimum* funding for public schools to operate sustainably, and that funding has been treated as an aspirational goal which is perpetually delayed – resulting in public schools getting increasingly run down and still in deficit while teachers workload is maxed out minimise wage costs.
But no, private schools are still government funded while they routinely upgrade their swimming pools… it’s a farce. Surely and obviously government funding to private schools should be reduce and redirected to public schools.
People loose the plot always misguided by the fact it costs x amount per student. The key story is why govt would fund a private business to invest, grow and be profitable every year.
You’ll find private schools advocates everywhere justifying the expense because they know they’ll have to pay more.
Public schools are underfunded. Period. Just Chanel that money to public schools and we’ll see change (for good, of course).
Govt is just lazy, too much hassle for them
So much for social cohesion
It should be mandated that if you are a politician in parliament your kids should go to a public school
Why would we further engrain division between classes without even a glimpse into what the other experiences?
Oh, to maintain the status quo through ignorance – what a wonderful pretext for an education system
My kids high school in the states was newer and had better facilities than UniMelb