An extra $219 million in Gonski funding will be pumped into NSW public schools next year, as the state again piles pressure on its federal counterparts to commit to the final two years of the funding deal.
NSW Premier Mike Baird insists the needs-based funding reforms are beginning to bear fruit as he attempts to bridge the divide between the state and Commonwealth on the long-running issue.
"If the results are improved educational outcomes for our kids, which we're already starting to see, then my strong urge to the Commonwealth government is: you need to find the money," Mr Baird told reporters in Sydney.
"You have to invest in our kids if the results are coming."
The Gonski funding agreement will enter its fourth year in 2017, with the Commonwealth refusing to commit to the final two years of the six-year deal.
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NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said while the benefits of Gonski funding were becoming clear at individual schools, it would be years until statewide results could be properly evaluated.
Mr Piccoli lashed Gonski opponents who claim the scheme's results aren't good enough for the amount of money being invested.
Looking at past headline funding figures without considering where and how the money was spent was inaccurate and misleading, he said.
"There simply hasn't been the opportunity to actually assess whether this additional funding, targeted in the way we have through loadings and needs-based, has actually had an impact yet," Mr Piccoli said at Hurstville South Public School in southwest Sydney.
"We're starting to see it at individual schools like this, and we're seeing it in more and more schools, and I have no doubt that within a relatively short time we're going to see it right across the system."
Mr Piccoli said while the Commonwealth must undoubtedly grapple with budget constraints, it had an opportunity to influence the future of kids from challenging backgrounds.
"Surely investing in the human capital that Malcolm Turnbull talks about means investing in children, and investing in kids who turn up at school, particularly, who've got those challenges outside the classroom," he said.
