WA schools told to suffer their cuts Education Minister Peter Collier claims spending on education had "actually increased in this Budget" to $4.4 billion, up from $2.8 billion in 2007-08. TEACHERS, principals and education assistants are angry - some are even considering strikes for the first time in their careers. But the State Government, on the back of two expert reviews, insists that the way WA's public schools are funded must change. YASMINE PHILLIPS takes a look at the new funding system touted for 2015 and the education cuts, which Premier Colin Barnett has admitted will create "winners and losers" in our schools. AS WA moves towards a student-centred funding model for 2015, various cuts to "positions that can no longer be justified" have been announced for next year. Teacher numbers will be capped in 2014 at present levels, while cuts to 500 jobs will also be imposed. Those jobs include 150 positions in the Education Department's head and regional offices, 150 education assistants hired to monitor kindergarten to year 2 children with anaphylaxis and up to 200 more education assistants. The School Support Program Resource Allocation, which tackles behavioural issues and literacy and numeracy, will also be cut 30 per cent. Schools will be charged a levy of $600 per teaching staff member and $400 per support staff member for long-service leave liabilities. Funding for performance management has also been cut, with principals asked to carry it out through "local arrangements, duties other than teaching time (DOTT) or out of school hours." The 1.5 per cent efficiency dividend also continues across the education budget. Premier Colin Barnett has also raised the prospect of school amalgamations and closures because high school sizes of at least 800 to 1000 students were sustainable, offering a wide range of subject options and viable class sizes. The State Government argues that the funding system for public education is "unfair" and "not sustainable." It has therefore changed the formula by which it allocates teachers to schools, to "distribute resources more equitably." This major overhaul means that public school funding will be allocated on a child-by-child basis, "based on individual needs," rather than by school types or programs. Under the new system, schools will receive a base amount for each student, along with additional funds for children with extra needs. Those children include Aboriginal students, students facing social disadvantage, students with English as a second language and students with disabilities, as well as small schools and schools in isolated and remote areas. Education Minister Peter Collier said spending on education had "actually increased in this Budget" to $4.4 billion, up from $2.8 billion in 2007-08. But authorities warn that "it is not sustainable to operate as we always have under the current outdated system" in the face of rising costs. The changes are based on the recommendations of a review of public school funding conducted by researchers from the University of Melbourne. They found the existing system did not best meet the needs of students because the outdated funding mechanism was overly complicated and failed to consider each student according to their needs, rather than where they lived or what school they attended. But the report's authors have warned those system changes should not be made in conjunction with cuts. The state's public education system is taking in unprecedented numbers of students, thanks to about 1000 people moving to WA each week. In recent years, the Education Department has required multi-million-dollar bailouts to deal with budget blowouts. Principals say the cuts, particularly surrounding teachers and education assistants, will affect front-line services and therefore our children's education. They say schools are being asked to do more with less, and some warn the cuts are "the biggest hurt to public education" in their careers. Next year, the average primary school is estimated to be about $80,000 worse off, and big senior high schools $400,000 to $1 million. Principals, other senior staff and education assistants are considering industrial action after the announcements, which they say will affect some of the state's most vulnerable children. To cope with the number of children of 457 visa holders attending public schools, the Government has also announced $4000 school fees for those students. The move, aimed at recouping $120 million over the next four years, has been widely criticised, with some families looking to move elsewhere and others considering pulling their children out of public schools. But Treasurer Troy Buswell argued that those 8600 children, up from just 290 in 2005, were "putting a significant strain on our school system." Commissioned by the Federal Government in 2010, businessman David Gonski oversaw the first review of school funding in Australia in almost 40 years. His review found the existing arrangements were unnecessarily complex and involved duplication. The review panel recommended that schools should be funded according to student need by providing a base payment for every student, with loadings for students from low socio-economic backgrounds, indigenous students, students with limited English skills and students with disabilities, as well as extra money for small schools and schools in regional, rural and remote areas. The principles are in line with the State Government's student-centred funding model for 2015, but WA has refused to sign up to the Federal Government's Better Schools Plan. Federal Labor's initial offer would have put $300 million over six years into WA's base funding for schools, but that was increased to $920 million after WA argued the cost of providing education was much higher here given the state's size. Mr Collier said the student-centred funding model was "very similar to what was proposed by Gonski." "We have never argued against the Gonski model," he said. What we have argued against is the commonwealth's decision to increase their involvement in our schools and the discrepancy in extra funding allocated to other states. Even if WA signed up to Gonski, Mr Collier said "the current outdated way of distributing state funds would still exist and would need to be addressed."