Two years ago I joined the Parkhill (PPS) School Council to work alongside passionate parents and teachers to make our little school the best it can be for our children. It started with just joining the school council to help where I can but this year it expanded to me volunteering to also chair the Finance sub committee (shout out to my finance committee members doing awesome work here). 

It has been such an eye opening experience participating in these forums. Mainly because it is so heart warming to see the amazing spirit we have in the staff and families of PPS but also in that I have had the opportunity to learn about how our state education system works and the challenges that smaller schools face in managing their finances.

One common misconception I had about our public education system is that everything (all of it!!) surely is…… free? It’s all provided by the government….right? I was quite surprised to learn that is only partially true.

Our free education extends to the government paying teacher salaries and occasionally providing money for capital projects like our new gymnasium. Almost everything else is funded directly by the school. Items such as art supplies, pencils, notebooks, books, computer applications, utilities like electricity and gas, building works and maintenance, casual relief teachers and programs like the garden program, are all funded by revenue that PPS needs to generate.

I remember being shocked that the everyday supplies used by our children to learn were not provided by the government and when faced with the laundry list of things the school has to pay for I even wondered how any school survives. It is not uncommon and is the case at Parkhill where teachers buy some of these supplies out of their own money when schools no longer can afford to. Such is the dedication of our educators that they would spend their own salary to care for our children’s learning needs. This was a difficult pill for me to swallow.

Fortunately, there are several ways we can contribute to making sure our children get what they need and continue to enjoy our school. Parent Payments are a voluntary but vital part of the money we need to keep our school running. Currently 64% of families at PPS have made a parent payment. We are so thankful for them helping fund us. I would love to see that increase and I need your help to make that happen. For many families they may have simply forgotten, assumed they have paid already or perhaps just didn’t realise that these payments are vital in being able to provide for our children. Parent payment contributions are a lifeline for PPS and your support in contributing to them helps pay for a lot more than you may realise. Important programs such our gardening program, STEAM activities and much, much, more, rely on Parent Payments to keep afloat.

If you haven’t made a Parent Payment yet, please, I urge you to make one soon to help our school realise its full potential. You can easily make payments via the Compass app or in-person at the PPS office. We do understand that it is a tough financial situation with increased interest rates and a raised cost of living and therefore there are also ways to pay via a payment plan. Please contact Jo Ravida (jo.ravida@education.vic.gov.au) if you would like to make an arrangement like this. 

Please also remember that the suggested amount to pay is the bare minimum we need to keep our awesome school running (our fees are some of the lowest in the Monash, Box Hill and Boroondara areas). If you have made a payment already and didn’t realise that the suggested payments are so vital to our school, you can still make more contributions. Simply ask the office how you can contribute towards supplies and other learning needs.

Education in Victoria is not 100% free and paid for entirely by the government, which is why Parent Payments are so important to us. I would love to see as many of our families contributing if they can, so please check if you’ve paid and that you’ve paid the recommended minimum as these funds really do go directly towards the learning supplies and tools our children deserve.

Jason van Lint

Parkhill PS Parent, and School Council Treasurer