❓ The WA Government outlines the air-cooling program for South West schools, funding arrangements for electricity costs, and information regarding solar panel installations. Schools have been responsible for electricity costs since the early 1990s, with funding provided by the Department of Education.
AnsweredQoN 2828Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
As at 20 February 2015: (a) which schools in the South West region have airconditioning in every classroom; (b) prior to 2015, did the Department of Education cover the electricity costs for schools; (c) are schools now required to meet their electricity costs from their school budgets; (d) for each school in the South West region, how much of the funding within the single bucket funding allocation provided to the school was calculated as sufficient to meet the school’s electricity costs for the year; (e) how many schools in the South West region have solar panels; and (f) in relation to each school with solar panels: (i) what was the cost of installing the solar panels; and (ii) do the solar panels generate enough power to meet the school’s electricity needs?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
22 April 2015
Responded by
Minister for Education
Response time
43 days
(a) Please refer to Tabled Paper.
The balance of schools in the South West (54 schools) will all be air-cooled as part of the State Government's Stage 2B Air-Cooling in Schools Program, with the exception of one school which has requested to be removed from the program. The installation of air-cooling in these schools will be completed this year.
(b and c) As part of the Department's Utilities Management Program, schools have been funding their own electricity costs since the early 1990s with funds provided by the Department of Education.
(d) Under the new student-centred funding model, all of the funding previously provided for utilities was redistributed through the per-student and, where relevant, the enrolment-linked base and locality allocation funding. The Department of Education has ensured that each school has sufficient funding to cover general operating costs, including salaries for principals, teachers and support staff as well as costs for utilities, cleaning and gardening. This was based on the historical site costs, including utilities for each school, and therefore incorporated the varying utility costs in each school.
(e) - (f) (i) (ii) Schools are not required to register solar panels with the Department of Education and therefore information about initial installation costs and power generation is not kept centrally. Schools access various sources of funding to purchase and install Solar Panels. Solar Panels are not funded by the Department of Education.
The balance of schools in the South West (54 schools) will all be air-cooled as part of the State Government's Stage 2B Air-Cooling in Schools Program, with the exception of one school which has requested to be removed from the program. The installation of air-cooling in these schools will be completed this year.
(b and c) As part of the Department's Utilities Management Program, schools have been funding their own electricity costs since the early 1990s with funds provided by the Department of Education.
(d) Under the new student-centred funding model, all of the funding previously provided for utilities was redistributed through the per-student and, where relevant, the enrolment-linked base and locality allocation funding. The Department of Education has ensured that each school has sufficient funding to cover general operating costs, including salaries for principals, teachers and support staff as well as costs for utilities, cleaning and gardening. This was based on the historical site costs, including utilities for each school, and therefore incorporated the varying utility costs in each school.
(e) - (f) (i) (ii) Schools are not required to register solar panels with the Department of Education and therefore information about initial installation costs and power generation is not kept centrally. Schools access various sources of funding to purchase and install Solar Panels. Solar Panels are not funded by the Department of Education.
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