Ku-ring-gai public schools will benefit from a share of the record $113 million in additional funding announced by the NSW Government to support public school students who need it most.

Member for Ku-ring-gai Alister Henskens SC MP said the needs-based funding, which has been implemented as part of the NSW Liberals & Nationals commitment to the Gonski agreement, is delivering more funding to students in a fair and transparent way.

“In 2016, local public schools will receive $4,428,412,” Mr Henskens said.

“This substantial ongoing investment in public education is fantastic news for our schools, and will further boost their efforts to deliver improved student results.

The funding for 2016, made possible by NSW being the first state to sign the Gonski agreement, means NSW students will benefit from needs-based funding totalling $860 million, distributed through the Resource Allocation Model.

Examples of local needs-based funding allocations in Ku-ring-gai include:

• Waitara Public School will receive $634,513, which is an increase of $165,171 on 2015;
• Warrawee Public School will receive $268,976, which is an increase of $88,799 on 2015.
•  Turramurra High School will receive $751,278, which is an increase of $126,735 on 2015, and
• Wahroonga Public School will receive $283,747, which is an increase of $140,645 on 2015. 

“This needs-based funding can be used in a variety of ways, including employing speech pathologists or specialist teachers to target learning areas,” Mr Henskens said.

Through the NSW Government’s Local Schools, Local Decisions reform, principals in all NSW public schools are making local decisions on how to use these funds to improve student outcomes.

As a result of NSW signing up to the Gonski agreement, the NSW Government has also been able to deliver resources to improve the quality of teaching, provide more school counsellors and improve support for beginning teachers.