Funding for Home Education
Marina, a South Australian homeschooler, sent me this information which I found interesting...
"Sally Robbins [from the SA Ed Dept] said that there are approximately 715 'exempted' HSers in SA. This does not include children studying by distance education or via 'school of the air', etc, as they are viewed as adjuncts to mainstream education."
Marina went on to ask the question - "just how much money do we actually save the government" by homeschooling our children? Last year David Dewar, one of the other HS project officers, told Marina that if all the known exempted homeschooled children went back to school next week there wasn't room for them and that " at least three new schools would have to be built: land found and bought, buildings erected, equiped, staffed, administered and maintained, etc!
Like many of us Marina has friends who fervently beleive that we are taking money away from public schools because we don't send our children there. The opposite seems to be closer to reality - we are saving millions of tax payer dollars by home educating our children. Perhaps it is time to ask for some financial assistance. If New Zealand homeschoolers can enjoy funding each year then why can't we?
Marina pointed out that it is possible to claim some educational expenses, such as 8% of the cost of text books, back from the tax department every year. If you aren't keeping receipts perhaps you should be! Don't forget that excursions and consumable resources are also educational expenses. Talk to your accountant about getting a complete list of expenses for deduction purposes.
"Sally Robbins [from the SA Ed Dept] said that there are approximately 715 'exempted' HSers in SA. This does not include children studying by distance education or via 'school of the air', etc, as they are viewed as adjuncts to mainstream education."
Marina went on to ask the question - "just how much money do we actually save the government" by homeschooling our children? Last year David Dewar, one of the other HS project officers, told Marina that if all the known exempted homeschooled children went back to school next week there wasn't room for them and that " at least three new schools would have to be built: land found and bought, buildings erected, equiped, staffed, administered and maintained, etc!
Like many of us Marina has friends who fervently beleive that we are taking money away from public schools because we don't send our children there. The opposite seems to be closer to reality - we are saving millions of tax payer dollars by home educating our children. Perhaps it is time to ask for some financial assistance. If New Zealand homeschoolers can enjoy funding each year then why can't we?
Marina pointed out that it is possible to claim some educational expenses, such as 8% of the cost of text books, back from the tax department every year. If you aren't keeping receipts perhaps you should be! Don't forget that excursions and consumable resources are also educational expenses. Talk to your accountant about getting a complete list of expenses for deduction purposes.
© Beverley Paine 2006
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