Riverina community preschools are struggling to stay afloat amid claims of a massive underspend in the NSW early childhood education budget.
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NSW Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education Jodie Harrison said there had been a $300 million underspend in the early childhood budget in the past three years.
Ms Harrison said the NSW government’s own documents showed the disparity in spending in the budgets of 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15.
“Last year they underspent a quarter of their early childhood education budget of $361.1 million; the actual spend was $262.9 million,” she said.
“I think it’s atrocious the government can be underspending on the early childhood budget and allowing community preschools to close across the state.”
NSW Minister for Early Childhood Education Leslie Williams has denied the underspend during question time in the NSW Parliament.
Albury Preschool director Gabrielle Connell said the preschool funding model threatened the viability of regional and remote preschools.
“It’s just got beyond the government since 1989; they keep coming up with another funding model and none are working,” she said.
“The best solution is if the state government funded wages like in primary schools.”
The member for Albury, Greg Aplin, said since 2012 the NSW preschool funding model had directed the bulk of resources to four-year-olds in the year before they started school.
While participation rates for four-year-olds in preschool in NSW lagged behind their Victorian peers, he said he would continue to work closely with NSW preschool stakeholders for the best outcome.
“100 per cent participation in preschool is the ideal,” he said.
“I understand the problem and it’s exacerbated by being on the border.”
Albury Preschool, which marks its 70th birthday this year, got a rating of “Excellent” in the National Quality Framework in 2014, among a few services nationwide.
“We pride ourselves on the dedication of our staff, our strong parent body and the programs we offer to all children in our community,” Ms Connell said.
“Our preschool, like many in NSW, is struggling.”
Jo Barton highlighted the impact of the preschool funding model in a letter to Ms Williams on behalf of the Albury and District Community Preschools Partnering Group, which represents 20 district preschools.
“Unless we see some major changes to funding ... many of us will no longer be able to operate and will have to close our doors in the foreseeable future,” she wrote.
