One of Sydney’s top-performing public schools will seek to cut costs and ask parents to pay more after its budget was slashed.
One of Sydney’s top-performing public schools will seek to cut costs and ask parents to pay more after its budget was slashed.
- Exclusive
- National
- NSW
- Selective schools
By Lucy Carroll and Christopher Harris
March 10, 2025 — 6.30pm
The principal at one of the state’s top selective schools has told parents that higher teacher salaries and major budget cuts have left the school needing to lift income to “break even” this year.
In a newsletter to parents last month, Sydney Boys High principal Kim Jaggar detailed budget pressures, saying the school relied on income from parent donations and contributions.
He said the NSW Education Department had removed $170,000 from the school’s budget last year, adding that “salaries were increased for teaching staff and support staff”. “Our wages costs ballooned. We had multiple capital projects in the pipeline that we had to see through,” he wrote.
NSW slashed a total $148 million from public school budgets last April and principals were told unspent funding accumulated over years would be frozen.
The 142-year-old Sydney Boys High is the only state school in the prestigious Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools (GPS) of NSW, which is dominated by private schools including Sydney Grammar, Saint Ignatius’ College Riverview and The King’s School.
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Parent contributions at Sydney Boys totalled $684,290 last year, while its monthly giving program raised $33,745. Earlier this year, Jaggar said a culture of “intergenerational generosity” meant the school had acquired assets and access to facilities in Moore Park, Abbotsford, Malabar, Sydney International Shooting Centre, Rose Bay and Centennial Park.
The school has previously told parents their financial support allowed it to compete with its private school counterparts. High-fee private and GPS schools have ramped up investment in state-of-the-art sport and aquatic facilities, resources and coaches.
Sydney Boys’ per-student contribution was set at $1180 last year, while parents were asked to pay for other extras, including the $165 co-curricular supervision levy and a $345 technology levy.
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In the newsletter, Jaggar said, “expenses as a percentage of revenue were 105 per cent, meaning all our reserves are gone”.
“Why? DoE removed $170,000 from our budget during the year,” he wrote.
“The wages structure was changed. Casuals had to be paid a high minimum wage of $30 and a minimum hire of two hours … There was a surprise deduction of $542,000 for December for wages, which we had not estimated.
“All the funds we received were spent to benefit your sons. We cannot do it again this year. We will have to increase income and reduce expenditure to break even this year. At High, the very strong reliability of our income flows from parents through donations and contributions.”
Public school leaders have previously said funding shortfalls mean principals rely on voluntary contributions to fund aspects of school life expected by parents.
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A NSW Department of Education spokesman said Sydney Boys High is “fully funded” to meet the educational needs of students.
“Dr Jaggar has undertaken to send further communications to the school community to make clear that parent contributions are voluntary,” he said.
“Sydney Boys High School has a long history of receiving strong support from its parent community and old boys’ network as it continues to successfully participate as the only public school in GPS sporting opportunities.”
Sydney Boys’ operational funding has increased from $12.65 million to $14.05 million in 2025, the department said.
The school is also fundraising for a table tennis centre and air-conditioning for classrooms.
Last week, NSW reached a $4.8 billion school funding deal with the Commonwealth that will raise the federal government’s share of public school funding from 20 to 25 per cent. The extra cash is tied to education reforms aimed at lifting student results.
A department spokesman said that from 2026, increased Commonwealth funding will “start flowing to our public schools, helping to deliver better resources, more support for teachers, and improved outcomes for students”.
The estimated average Commonwealth funding per student for NSW government schools is expected to increase by an estimated 70 per cent, about $3000 a student, going from $4343 to $7380 a student by 2034 under the Better and Fairer Funding Agreement.
Lucy Carroll is education editor of The Sydney Morning Herald. She was previously a health reporter.Connect via Twitter or email.
Christopher Harris is an education reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
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