Micah Wilson, 12, brings far more to Trinity Christian School than he takes from it, according to principal Carl Palmer.
But as a student with an autism disorder who needs additional assistance including a teacher's aid, Micah also costs more than the average student to educate.
Students with disabilities have historically been wedged between different funding regimes for government and non-government schools.
If they are enrolled in a government school, they attract state and territory government subsidies to cover the cost of their disability up to five times more than if they are enrolled in the non-government system.
While Micah is one of more than 60 special needs students, recognised and funded by the Commonwealth, this additional funding is far less than what he would receive were he enrolled in the government sector.
Trinity also caters for nearly 80 students with do not receive any additional funding but require added assistance.
As the Gonski review of funding for schooling today issues four independent research papers on different aspects of education resourcing, the non-government school sector is hoping future reforms will include a fairer and more transparent funding structure for students with disabilities.
Mr Palmer said principals in non-government schools were ''over a barrel'' when it came to enrolling students with disabilities.
''Of course we cannot discriminate against a child with a disability, but we also have to be clear with parents about any limitations we face in what we can offer a child. I have to ask myself whether I am disadvantaging Micah because I can't put as much funding into his education as I would like to - and I can't increase the fees for everyone else to cover the added costs,'' he said.
''My hope is the Gonski review will see us treat all children with a disability - through no fault of their own - as equals. I fail to understand legislation which allocates a student like Micah X amount of dollars in one setting but a fifth of that in another school.''
Micah, who has been enrolled at Trinity since kindergarten, said he loved the school because of his friends, teachers and principal.
Sometimes he found school a challenge ''because my imagination is so strong''.
But he also brought with him ''incredible strength and a wonderful sense of humour'' which was valued by the rest of the school community, according to Mr Palmer.
With the Gonski review due to report to Government by the end of the year, many in the non-government sector are lobbying for a voucher system.
Such a system - in which students in non-government schools were guaranteed a minimum level of funding, with extra support for those with special needs, has already been flagged by the review panel.
The National Catholic Education Commission's submission to the Gonski review also calls for a fundamental rethink on the way students with disabilities are funded.
Chief executive Bill Griffiths said the most important first step was for a fair and national set of disability definitions to be decided. Then all funding - from the Commonwealth, state and territory governments, and from schools themselves - needed to put ''put on the table''.
The Association of Independent Schools has similarly argued that the issue of funding for students with disabilities needed to be addressed by the Gonski review.
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