Wagga public schools are losing out to private, Catholic options

Class merging and cancellations have become an ongoing issue in the local public school system, largely as consequence of ongoing staff shortages.

But South Wagga Public's problem is different. Student enrolments have declined over consecutive years, as the school's catchment area has become increasingly crowded, and the number of students allowed from other areas has be reduced by the Department of Education.

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Andrew Smith from South Wagga Public Parents and Citizens' (P&C) Association said he doesn't understand why the number of out of catchment students has been reduced.

"The last two or three years, the Department - for whatever reason - has really cut down on the number of out of zone families it is allowing into the school," he said.

"We're zoned to have 300 students at the school, and we had that about four years ago. Since then, there's been this rule, and there's been a dramatic drop in the students.

"This is an issue that has concerned a lot of the parents."

Total enrolments at South Wagga Public were 279 in 2022, down from 333 in 2018.

Along with the rest of the state, Wagga's students are moving from under resourced public schools to the private and Catholic sector in droves. This creates additional problems for these schools, which loose student funding as a result of the losses.

This leaves teachers with a stark choice - work in a public sector school, with limited resourcing, and limited pay, or a private or Catholic school, with no wage cap, and theoretically unlimited resources.

Mr Smith said this was a problem for South Wagga Public, and all local government schools.

"It concerns me as a parent, but it also concerns me as a member of society," he said.

"Really, what we're doing is creating split level education ... It's all to do with the parents' feeling that's the best thing for their child."

Teacher shortages in NSW public schools reached crisis point last year, when the total staff shortfall was estimated to be 3300, with more than 55 per cent in rural and regional areas.

This shortage has hit home in Wagga, with classes at Wagga High merged earlier this year as a result.

Tumut High has seen shortages reach near catastrophic levels, resulting in 13 classes being merged, and more than 100 classes going untaught, as of March 2023.

This has yet to hit home at South Wagga Public, which has merged classes due to student numbers rather than a direct teacher shortage, but a shortage of casual teachers in the area means that classes are merged due to teacher absences.

NSW Teachers Federation country organiser Jack O'Brien said the comparatively low wages and school resourcing in the public sector are a direct cause of the teacher shortage.

"It's uncompetitive salaries, unsustainable workloads ... we have teachers burning out and leaving the system," he said

"Public money is being directed towards the most privileged schools, while schools that are suffering, in the most disadvantaged and challenging communities that need those resources are being underfunded.

"Teachers are one of the most crucial resources a school can have, and the shortages are continuing to worsen."

Mr O'Brien said the situation was complex, and had been created over time. There is not quick fix.

"It's going to take time to attract and retain teachers - including those that have left the profession."

"But the only way to do that is to make public schools desirable places to work."

South Wagga Public School was contacted, but declined to comment.

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