Two Christian schools planning to expand into Canberra's north and west have been accused by education lobbyists of a cynical grab for federal funding.
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The Save Our Schools group says that Brindabella Christian School stands to reap an extra $2 million of Commonwealth money annually if its plan to take over Belconnen's Charnwood High School comes to fruition. Trevor Cobbold, of Save Our Schools, estimates that the Seventh Day Adventist's Canberra Christian School stands to gain about $400,000 in extra federal cash each year if its application to build a school at the new Molonglo suburb of Wright is approved by the ACT government.
But a spokesman for the Christian Schools lobby group has angrily rejected Mr Cobbold's assertions, saying the schools were operating well within the law.
The expansion plans have been controversial, with the public schools teachers union - the AEU - and Canberra's Council of Parents and Citizens groups both urging Education Minister Chris Bourke to reject the proposals.
Now Mr Cobbold, a veteran public education advocate, has accused the schools of exploiting a loophole in the federal government's generous funding arrangements to private schools.
By seeking to establish new campuses of their existing schools, Mr Cobbold said that rather than applying to establish new schools, Brindabella Christian College and Canberra Christian School could bring their ''funding maintained'' status with them to their new premises. Funding maintained schools were guaranteed a level of funding per student under the Howard government's ''no losers'' policy in 2001 even thought the amount of federal money paid per student exceeds what they would receive under the socio-economic status (SES) distribution model.
Mr Cobbold said that by establishing new campuses the schools were seeking to extend their advantaged status.
''The schools are taking advantage of a loophole in federal funding arrangements to gain additional funding,'' the campaigner said.
''It is a cynical exercise in maximising their taxpayer funding.
''Brindabella Christian College and Canberra Christian School are also clearly trying to abuse the existing arrangements.
''The new Brindabella Charnwood campus is planned to be even larger than its Lyneham school.
''The Canberra Christian campus at Molonglo will be 20 times larger than its Mawson school. These campuses will not be simple adjuncts to existing schools - they will be new schools. The two schools should do the ethical thing and amend their applications to be considered as new stand-alone schools.''
Mr Cobbold said the entire Howard-era SES funding model should be scrapped.
''It is time to shut off this loophole,'' he said. ''It is yet another reason to ditch the SES funding model. It is widely used by other private schools to rort the taxpayer.''
But Christian Schools Australia chief executive Stephen O'Doherty angrily rejected Mr Cobbold's assertions and said both the schools were acting properly.
''A school doesn't have to be all crowded on to a single block of land, we left that idea behind in the nineteenth century,'' he said.
''In other words the application is in line with the Commonwealth's legal definitions of school versus campus. What Trevor is suggesting is therefore wrong.''