A modest education budget was announced yesterday which focuses on bringing two new schools into operation, supports the territory's increasing numbers of students with disabilities, and starts a ''green makeover'' for old school buildings.
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As reported in Monday's Canberra Times, the bulk of $16.4 million in new spending will go towards staffing Bonner Primary School and Franklin Early Childhood Centre - with both receiving $5.9 million over four years.
Special needs transport will receive $1.5 million extra. Non-government schools struggling to cope with an increase in students with disabilities will receive $2 million from the Interest Subsidy Scheme.
New capital funding includes the previously announced $13 million to refurbish Taylor Primary School, and $2.8 million to expand Duffy Primary School to cope with increased enrolments following development in North Weston and Molonglo.
The Canberra Institute of Technology receives an additional $3.2 million to cope with increasing numbers of students with disabilities and those seeking an alternative year 12 program.
In the last year alone, CIT has enrolled 100 extra students with a disability - taking the total number of students with disabilities to 2600 out of a student body of 22,000. Last year CIT enrolled 317 students in its year 12 program - 75 per cent over the number of funded places.
With the ACT also experiencing an increase in year 12 students - up by 1.4 per cent this year - $400,000 will be spent on increasing access to the ACT Scaling Test, which helps assess university entrance ranks.
To help all ACT government schools achieve carbon neutrality, another $3.5 million will be spent on installing efficient lighting, better roof insulation and thermal resistant glass across the sector.
Another $500,000 will be added to the general maintenance budget.
The ACT's Teacher Quality Institute, which will register and professionally develop the territory's teaching workforce, will receive $2.8 million while $125,000 will support the Excellence and Enterprise Framework, supporting teacher quality in the high school years.
ACT Education Minister Chris Bourke said the budget brought the ACT government's overall investment in education rising to $900 million.
Canberra College performing and creative arts teacher Kim Walkom welcomed the funding to complete the new government schools.
While she acknowledged it was a tight budget, she said it was heartening to see students at risk and those with disabilities were receiving extra support.
Ms Walkom, whose two sons Aidan, 10, and Declan, 5, are educated at Arawang Primary, said: ''I would always welcome more money for public education - particularly for students at risk - but given current financial constraints, I can't really complain.''
Her big hope for education funding was tied to the Commonwealth supporting the recommendations of the recent Gonski review of school funding which calls for $5 billion to introduce a needs-based funding model.
