Do you know that funding for Queensland state schools is the lowest of all states in the country? Our kids miss out on $1.7 billion every year! 

Here in Cooper, local schools are underfunded by $12.8 million a year, shorting our kids by $2745 each. 

This means fewer teachers, fewer resources for kids and more out-of-pocket expenses for families. 

These figures are based on the government's own ‘Schooling Resource Standard’ (SRS), which is the minimum funding amount required to meet a student’s basic educational needs. 

The state government is expected to contribute 80% of this funding, with the other 20% coming from the federal government. However, every year, Queensland only contributes 69.26% of the funding needed. 

School staff and parents, particularly P&Cs, do incredible work to make up this funding gap for our kids, but in a wealthy state like Queensland our public schools should not only be world-class, they should be genuinely free! 

Join Penny Allman-Payne - Senator for Queensland, Elizabeth Watson-Brown - MP for Ryan and Katinka Winston-Allom - Greens candidate for Cooper to discuss why this is happening and what we can do together to fix it.

As a former public school teacher who has worked across Queensland over the last twenty years, Penny is passionate about giving our kids access to the quality education they deserve, and knows the system inside and out!

Please bring your questions and ideas, and stay for a free community meal after the forum.