Unions next move on school 'cuts'
Teachers plan to open a new front in their campaign to highlight changes to school funding.
About 100 State School Teachers Union members from 50 public schools met yesterday to discuss their response to last week's State Budget.
SSTU president Pat Byrne said it would focus on marginal seats in the lead-up to the next election by urging people to put pressure on their local members of Parliament by writing letters to newspapers and circulating petitions.
The union also launched an online tool yesterday showing how the changes would affect their local schools, including details on student numbers, school budgets and funding for each student.
The union has claimed the Government's workforce renewal policy would result in a $257 million cut to school budgets on top of a $200 million reduction in 2013.
It has been campaigning for 18 months for funding to be returned to schools.
Ms Byrne did not rule out further industrial action. "At the moment we don't know what the impact is going to be," she said.
"Once the Education Department makes those decisions and we see exactly how the dust settles, we will think about the next step."
Education Minister Peter Collier said WA's education budget had increased from $2.84 billion in 2007-08 to $4.8 billion in 2015-16 - a 69 per cent increase.
"During this time enrolments have risen only 15 per cent," he said. "How the union views this as a savage cut is beyond me."
He said on average spending for each student would increase $600 and savings from the workforce renewal policy would not affect funding this year.
