The Federal Government has doubled the funding of Catholic schools to support families affected by drought, allocating a total of $8.2m for Catholic schools across Queensland ($3.9m), New South Wales ($2.8m), Victoria ($810,000) and South Australia ($660,000).
The effort is on top of the drought relief funding announced by the federal government last 7 November.
“The Federal Government recognises the hardship faced by our drought-affected communities and the flow-on effects for schools,” said Jacinta Collins, executive director of National Catholic Education.
“It is so important that young people whose families are facing difficult times can continue their schooling and that schools can support students and families in these situations.”
Collins also said that many of their communities have been experiencing drought for some years and schools have been doing everything they can to support the wellbeing of students, which includes counselling.
According to Queensland Catholic Education Commission executive director Dr Lee-Anne Perry, “Catholic schools have been supporting drought affected families; in some cases, for a number of years.” The funding means they can continue to do that.
“This additional funding will help families by ensuring they do not have to worry about where their child will go to school during the worst drought on record,” said Danielle Cronin, acting chief executive officer of Catholic Schools NSW.