Teachers, principals and support staff from around the country will take part in the Australian Education Union’s 27th Annual Federal Conference which began in Melbourne on Sunday.

To coincide with the opening of the conference, the union will release the results of a public opinion poll of over 2,500 Australians which shows overwhelming support for greater public school funding.

“The poll results show there is overwhelming opposition to the current Federal funding arrangements and that Australians want a new funding system and increased funding for public schools,” Mr Gavrielatos said.

“Every child deserves a high quality education. Only by better resourcing public schools can we ensure that they get it.

“Public schools teach two thirds of students but receive only one third of the money the Federal Government spends on schools. Federal funding for public schools has increased at a far lower rate than that of private schools – some which have had increases of over 360 per cent per student in a decade.

AEU Federal President Angelo Gavrielatos said the poll revealed:

• Almost 70 per cent of people believe the Federal Government is currently giving too much money to private schools and not enough to public schools.
• Two thirds of people said most or all new federal funding should go to public schools.
• Investing in public schools to lower class sizes and increase the individual attention for students was nominated as the number one priority for the Gillard Government in education.
• A total of 74 per cent of people agreed private school funding should be means-tested to take into account the resources they already have.