Public schools aren’t converting to charter schools at the rate David Seymour claimed they would.

Due to low demand over the past year, $4 million was taken out of the money set aside for charter schools to be used on other things. Despite that, the Government is still funding ACT’s failing charter school model.

“Charter schools are a waste of taxpayer’s money. They cost far more per student than state schools, have very little oversight and are based on ideology, not evidence,” Labour education spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said.

“It’s time David Seymour faced reality – ACT’s charter schools experiment is failing again. The Government’s own budget documents state that no state school converted in the last financial year.

“When the funding was announced last year, he claimed there would be ‘15 new charter schools and the conversion of 35 state schools to charter schools in 2025 and 2026’. Now he’s back-tracking.

“The Government is wasting money on David Seymour’s vanity project despite knowing it isn’t working. The cost per student is astronomical and there is no evidence it is worth it.

“A student at a charter school costs the taxpayer around five times as much as a student who attends a state school, with nothing to show for it.

“David Seymour is cutting funding for school lunches while wasting money on charter schools,” Willow-Jean Prime said.

© Scoop Media