ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
The principal of the exclusive Whooton School in Betoota Grove has outlined the dangers of losing public funding in a letter to parents this morning, saying the school’s brand new playing field is in danger of being levelled without it.
Professor Graham Waterford said that he and the school’s board of trustees have worked tirelessly over the past five years to make sure the school’s world-class facilities like the playing field are not levelled.
“Like everything in life, things cost money,” he wrote.
“And the upkeep on a playing field such as the one we have here at Whooton is enormous. Upwards of five or six times the typical anaesthetist salary. As well as our fees, generous donations and other sources of income, our school depends on public money to keep it running smoothly,”
“As you might understand, removing public money from our budget can have run on effects that may negatively impact your son’s time here at Whooton. So please, lobby our local LNP representative and tell him you won’t stand for an independent school standing on it’s own. Explain that educating tomorrow’s leaders is not cheap.”
The Advocate reached out to Professor Waterford for comment but have yet to receive a reply.
However, a number of concerned Whooton parents reached out to our reporter, saying that they were beginning to feel concerned that they weren’t getting as much bang for their buck anymore.
Dennis Coleman, who admits sending his man-boobed and borderline illiterate son to Whooton has all but bankrupted him, spoke to The Advocate about his grievances with the school.
“I’m worried that my son won’t make a single connection there and won’t be able to get a head start. That and if they level the playing field, we might never know if he was destined to be a Wallaby,” he said.
“He’s only 13 but his coaches are telling me he’s got a great footy mind. It’d be a great shame if they levelled the playing field and we lost him to rugby league or something ethnic like soccer,”
“And if it takes public money to keep him ahead, then so be it. I pay fees, I pay my tax. I pay more income tax than public school parents, anyway.”
More to come.
