Jesuit Bishop Greg O'Kelly has sought commitment from Australian political leaders to the continued funding of Catholic schools.
As Chair of the Bishops Commission for Catholic Education, Bishop O'Kelly has asked that the Labor Party commit to increasing its funding to Catholic schools in line with increases in school running costs.
A review has been set up by the Federal Government to look at funding arrangements for government and non-government schools from 2013. Although both Julia Gillard (as education minister) and current Education Minister Simon Crean have both promised that no school would lose funding as a result of the review, there is no commitment that funding will rise.
‘The outcome for some hundreds of Catholic parish and regional primary and secondary schools is that their funding may be frozen in real dollar terms for several years from 2013', Bishop O'Kelly told The Australian on 15 July.
‘If this scenario came to pass, the viability of some Catholic schools would clearly be under threat. Basic school running costs increase by at least 5 per cent each year, but grants could be frozen at 2012 levels.'
The Coalition has made assurances that it would ‘enhance' private school funding in government. A spokesman for Mr Crean said the minister placed a priority on discussing the issue with the bishops. But he would not pre-empt the findings of the review panel, due to report next year.
Around 1600 of the 1700 schools Catholic schools across Australia are funded as part of a system, meaning funds are distributed across the system based on need. Cuts to funding would place a severe strain on the system as a whole.
National Catholic Education Commission CEO Bill Griffiths said the sector was not seeking more funding but was looking to ensure the viability of the sector was not compromised.