FED: Gillard mum on where schools money will go

AAP General News (Australia)
08-31-2008
FED: Gillard mum on where schools money will go

CANBERRA, Aug 31 AAP - Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard will not say where
extra funding for schools will go.

Last week Prime Minister Kevin Rudd outlined the next step in the government's "education
revolution" saying Labor would withhold funding from the states unless they introduced
league tables for schools.

Today Ms Gillard offered little more detail, saying negotiations were ongoing.

"I think we can all think of pockets of disadvantage in major cities and in regional
centres and they're the kind of areas we want to assist," Ms Gillard told Network Ten.

"We're absolutely focused on making sure every school in this country is a great school."

The government is offering an extra $500,000 for disadvantaged schools which will go
into improving the quality of teachers, among other areas.

Ms Gillard rejected accusations her chief influence in the league table plan, the New
York education system, had been a dismal failure with not one school in the city in the
top 200 schools in the US, according to a survey.

"Joel Klein's model has made a difference to those pockets of poverty and disadvantage,"

Ms Gillard said.

Mr Klein is the chancellor of New York City's education department and has shut underperforming
schools in the past.

"When you see a model that is working in some of those tough suburbs in New York, I
think you've got to take notice of it," Ms Gillard said.

AAP pv/jm/bwl

KEYWORD: SCHOOLS GILLARD

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