Blackboard bungle as cost of relief teachers skyrockets to hit $105m Figures obtained under Freedom of Information show Victoria's more than 1500 government primary and secondary schools spent $105.4 million on casual relief teachers in 2012. Picture: Thinkstock Source: ThinkStock MORE than $105 million was spent on casual relief teachers to cover sick or holidaying colleagues last year. Dozens of schools spent at least $250,000 on fill-in teaching staff, with one outlaying more than $500,000. Reinforcements were also called in to combat February's statewide strike, but the State Government won't reveal the cost to taxpayers. Figures obtained under Freedom of Information show Victoria's more than 1500 government primary and secondary schools spent $105.4 million on casual relief teachers in 2012, up about $700,000 on the previous year. Baden Powell P-9 College, a large school with two campuses in Melbourne's west, topped the list, spending $514,000. Wodonga Middle Years College and Roxburgh College were next, spending $418,000 and $392,000, respectively. Education Department spokeswoman Anna Malbon said it was up to schools to decide how much they spent on casual staff. They can only be employed for up to 30 consecutive working days if a regular teacher is on leave, performing other duties or at training. They can also be employed for a specific task that requires a qualified teacher. "Schools at the local level make decisions about casual relief teachers to ensure all classes are covered," Ms Malbon said. It is the responsibility of the principal, as the school council's representative, to ensure that only suitable and eligible persons are employed in the school and that student learning is not comprised. Australian Education Union Victorian branch president Meredith Peace said there was nothing out of the ordinary about the outlay, and use of casual educators was preferable to "grade splitting" where students whose teacher was away were shunted into other classes. "Every day in schools there are legitimate reasons for people to be employed casually," Ms Peace said. The important thing is when people are absent from school for whatever reason that it is important to have a properly qualified teacher backfilling those classes so that there is minimal disruption to the educational program for the students.