Voluntary School Fees in a Public School
If School Fees are "Voluntary", why do we get reminder notices sent home?
By definition, voluntary indicates you have a choice whether to "donate" or not, I dont need to be given a reminder of a choice I may or may not have made.
Public Schools should be that.. available to the Public.
Excursions, Uniforms, Electives, Stationery etc etc etc the list goes on!! These expenses are all paid by the parents, to get a reminder that you havent volunteered a contribution is, in the words of Rowan Atkinson, "like being shot through the neck with an arrow and finding there is a gas bill attached to the end of it!"
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by kim scharkie on -
Hi Kelly, a lot of what you talk about is true. The children do call their teachers by their first names. It takes a little getting used to but it seems to work okay there. This was implemented by the last principal I believe and is unique I guess in a sense. In regards to nut allergies our son is not allowed to take any nut products to school what so ever and that rule is enforced by the teachers in his class goup, there is a number of other kids on site with a similar allergy and Mark has one of those in his class. It isn't a bad school but as with any new schools it's much like our own homes where everything is open plan. In Marks classroom there is 3 seperate classes with around 100 kids in total, (they have really good technology support in the classes) their library is located adjacent to the Mawson Lakes hotel and on University grounds and is also a Salisbury City Council Library. It is a good facility and the walk as a class is probably not more than 300m around the corner crossing one pedestrian walk and two traffic lights, the one thing you do need to expect from this library however is they are pretty quick to send you out a bill for overdue books (full cost) plus late fees to your home address even though they have been there as a class and well Marks a bit tardy when it comes to returning items when they're supposed to be returned (which obviously means they don't get to the library all that often). Your best bet would be to speak directly to the principal, you're just going to butt your head against a brick wall questioning the admin staff. You may even be able to email them directly through the schools website. http://www.mawsonlakes.sa.edu.au/ If your child does have any learning difficulties, unfortunately we have found that unless you are willing to get the tuition they are a little fish in a big pond. Marks teacher does do extra one on one learning with him but there's only so much time she can allocate to one student. We are moving with defence at the end of the year and although I'm a South Aussie I grew up in the country and don't know too much about neighbouring schools except for the fact that Pooraka is around $100.00 cheaper a year but I'll let you make up your mind about that. By a means of cost cutting Mawson Lakes newsletters are no longer sent home with the kids, they are only available online. I'm pretty sure there wasn't any decrease in fees ah.. that's right if you can't afford the internet or don't have access you mustn't be worth attending our school. If you would like any further info, please let me know.
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Permalink Reply by Kelly on -
Thanks so much for responding! We are moving into a dha place there early in the new year :-)
The inquiries I made at low cost independent schools in surrounding suburbs were all very positive, reassuring and warm, which just seemed in stark contrast to this school. But I'll try to stay optimistic & give them the benefit of the doubt for the meantime. Unfortunately all the local independant schools I inquired at are full & have very long waiting lists :-( But they were still only to happy to send out info on their school incase any places do come up.
I have left a few messages for the DSTA at Mawsons but keep missing her. It's a comfort of sorts to know they do have kids with similar conditions already. Other 'unknown' stuff you might be able to answer for me is what happened when the school flooded early this year? Were any kids/ parents stranded?! And, did I read correctly there are 100 kids in 1 classroom- how is does that work with supervision, plus what's the noise like?! Any idea on the teacher to student ratio/ class size? Are there really no fences on the school- how does that work with preppies (sorry 'reception' kiddies) & year 7s in the same grounds, or being near busy roads, or stop/ discourage oddballs from hanging around the children??? Do you get constantly hounded by the school for 'fund raising' money? Do you know whether the reception classes have to share pencils (point taken from some of the earlier Hepatitis posts on this forum!!) SO MANY questions- Sorry!!
Incidentally, if you're after any school/ town info on Townsville I'm only to happy to try & help! We've used the Grammar school here for pre-prep in 2010 & found them outstanding. Will be a darn hard act to follow!
Also, when you move, DCO should be able coordinate 'catch up' tuition at the new locality if your son needs it- at no cost to you. I think you just need a letter from the new school on their letterhead to say he is behind his new peers and there is a need for additional assistance in whichever class subject (or all subjects if needed) and DCO can help coordinate the rest. The fact your child is behind might not be his learning difficulties, possibly the result of being frequently relocated by Defence- and that's why this kind of student assistance has come about. I'm not sure who the provider is but if DCO aren't any help maybe try DFA or DSNG(?) :-)
Cheers!
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Permalink Reply by kim scharkie on
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Kelly, the school is split into two half with the western side being for year 3 upwards I believe and eastern for junior primary with OSH on the western side as well. My other sons went to Oonoonba when it was first re-built and we really had no issues with them there either, really good school with great staff. Anyway I digress the floodway runs through the middle of the school and it originally didn't have a bridge across it, no sooner did they build one and it got washed away. It was all quite comical really. There is roads on both sides of the campus yet there were a number of people who decided to drive through the floodway and find their vehicles stranded in the middle, just as people do in Townsville. Fundraising isn't really a big issue there, just astronomical prices for excursions and the like, in regards to pencils over the last three years it has been shared pencils, you will get billed for them but they share. The school although it doesn't have any fences is quite well enclosed and both campuses have their own play areas. Mawson Lakes is the sort of area where you can really tell when people don't belong and generally they stick out, the suburb is a very multicultural suburb as you will soon learn, it's a very nice place to live and we will miss it. Unfortunately we're moving back to Vic would have liked to go back to Townsville, would have also been happy to stay in Adelaide. If you want any info on the area you're moving into let me know, we live in an area called the Peppercorn's which is at the extreme south of Mawson Lakes, the suburb itself is great with pretty much everything you need within the shopping precinct and the doctors within the Woolworths complex bulk bill as well and can get you in pretty quickly if need be. No more than 1km away you then have the Gepps X precinct which is pretty much identical to the Domain centre in Townsville except better.
Cheers
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Permalink Reply by Jessica on
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My children attend a catholic school, we pay the required schools fees and we also pay for the fundraising for the school and also for charities outside of the school, sometimes I do feel a bit frustrated when I dig and dig into our pockets for more fundraising etc. but I guess school fees just don't cover everything and we do what we can. If public schools have voluntary fees, just be glad it is "voluntary" and not mandatory as in catholic and private schools and you still have a choice. We have chosen catholic schools for our children and we pay the fees and cross our fingers that they are getting a good education.
PS Although I have always thought that public schools are fully funded by the government, guess I thought wrong.
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Permalink Reply by Sophie poulos on
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Yes I totally agree with you. We too had chosen to attend a public school, and I am all for paying school fees but schools fees that count not made up dance programs or IT programs that do not exist and book fees that are all sent back at the end of the year blank. For schools to ask for $37 dollar for a recycling excursion and then waste many many dollars on paper for photocopying work for kids to do. The school tells parents they are to be paid but they are voluntary and then they are rude and treat people horribly cause I people refuse to pay. We have done some home work and decided to move our kids to another school where they offer more exciting things like two languages, cooking and better sporting facilities. Good luck to my kids as they agreed to move and not be shackled to negative attitudes. Thanks for your opinion, I look forward to what other people think and feel. I love this website as we as parents leran about all schools and what they offer.
ps....Public schools are voluntary but all school get funding from the Government. Lets hope these schools use the dollars provided to teach and provide kids what they need.
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Permalink Reply by Yvette Bennett on
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What I dislike about this is my step daughter has now come to live with us full time, and her mum hasn't paid her "Voluntary" fees, and we have been told that unless we pay them by XX date.....Step daughter will not get the electives she needs next year to get into the course she wants to do after school finishes.
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Permalink Reply by Sophie poulos on
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The school your step daughter is attend is illegally stopping her from continuing school. They are not allowed to stop kids from doing anything as the fees are voluntary and they must supply all electives for to complete what's required. You can take it up with the educational co ordinator or regional manager of that school area. Talk to the school and arrange something, like small payments. good luck
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Permalink Reply by Sharon on -
Hi! I agree it's a scam. One school my children used to attend forgot to mention anywhere in their notice, anywhere about the voluntary part, and repeatedly sent them out as a bill to parents who hadn't paid. At the time my roof was leaking, my hot water system was broken down, and I couldn't afford repairs. I was not impressed. Making a few telling comments to the school seemed to remove the problem policy, words like "Scam" and "fraud", and "Education Department".
Jarrah.
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Permalink Reply by Fiona on
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My children attend public schools (primary and high school) and I pay the 'voluntary' fees and all other costs asked for by the school, whether or not I agree with them. Read your school's financial (audited) accounts if you want to know where the money is spent.
After 10 years in the public school system I have come to the conclusion (particularly after the BER program) that the business side of schools should be managed by properly qualified 'business managers'. The educational component of the school should be managed by the teachers which is what they are trained for. One business manager and one education manager, working with the teachers and parents.
If we want our schools to be better funded, then we have to pay more tax, or hold the politicians to account when they 'waste' the taxes we have paid.
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Permalink Reply by david mackay on
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Meanwhile, some of the country's richest private schools have taken $60,000 of taxpayers' money to subsidise their existing chaplains. Xavier College, Brighton Grammar and Presbyterian Ladies College are among the elite schools awarded funds from the public purse...from the age
happy fund raising...plebes
psychologists and social workers not indoctrinators , the state is neutral you can be and believe what you want, it doesn't play favourites
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