“Many of the programs funded in today’s budget deliver on promises made to parents prior to last year’s election.” said Council President, John Haydon. “We are pleased to see some of these election promises being honoured today.”

“We welcome the much-needed spending on school infrastructure, money for additional school psychologists and scholarships to help teachers specialise in areas such as science technology and maths.”

“We hope the funding allocated for school psychologists will be enough to meet the election promise of 20 additional positions over the next four years, without having to cut corners in other areas.”

“Parents will also welcome the provision of electronic devices for secondary school students which will help the household budget”, he said.

“Parents are also looking forward to safer school zones with the allocation of $3 million for school-crossing supervisors and safety improvements at 20 Canberra schools.”

“P&C associations in our schools are facing flagging volunteer numbers and struggling to get parents to engage. Council was hoping for money to be allocated in this budget to help but unfortunately there are no specifically allocated funds.”

“This is disappointing, given that studies show that student performance improves the more that parents are engaged.”

Released June 2017