Hundreds of Victorian teachers, principals and school staff have rallied outside the Minister for Education's office to protest Labor's $2.4 billion cut to public schools.
Ahead of last year's State Budget, the Allan Labor Government secretly cut $2.4 billion from Victorian public schools by delaying scheduled annual payments to meet Victoria's obligations under the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) by 2028.
Worse still, the Allan Labor Government failed to reverse this funding cut in the recent State Budget - denying a generation of students the world class education they deserve.
The Victorian Branch of the Australian Education Union called on principals, teachers, and school staff to show their anger "at the duplicity of the Allan Labor Government and their funding con job."
This school funding cut is a consequence of a decade of financial mismanagement under Labor, with Victoria's net debt set to reach a record $194 billion by 2028-29 and interest repayments soaring to $29 million per day.
Shadow Minister for Education, Jess Wilson, said "Victorian teachers, principals and school staff are standing up against Labor's secret $2.4 billion cut to public school funding.
"They are calling on the Minister for Education to immediately reverse this cut because they know it will deny a generation of students the world class education they deserve.
"Labor claims that Victoria is the 'Education State' but with Victorian public schools receiving the lowest funding per student in the country nothing could be further from the truth."
Shadow Assistant Minister for Education, Ann-Marie Hermans, said: "The Allan Labor Government's broken promise and delayed school funding will not only impair student learning opportunities and outcomes, but will continue to fuel the teacher shortage crisis with Victorian teachers the lowest paid in the country."
Labor cannot manage money, cannot manage our education system and Victorian students are paying the price.
