Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan has accused his Victorian counterpart of using the state's forthcoming election to play political games over school funding.
"I have never seen behaviour like this before in my parliamentary career," Mr Tehan told AAP on Thursday.
Victorian Education Minister James Merlino says a letter sent by Mr Tehan about finalising school funding negotiations "is an unprecedented and clumsy threat".
Mr Tehan will have finalised briefings with all state and territory education ministers by the end of the week, but has been told by Mr Merlino's office he is "too busy".
"No phone call, no text message, leaks it and uses provocative language like using a gun to his head, which is simply and utterly not true," Mr Tehan said.
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Mr Merlino, who is also Victoria's deputy premier, says the federal government is demanding states and territories immediately sign a deal.
"Essentially holding a gun to the head of states and territories by inventing deadlines," he said in a statement.
In the letter seen by AAP, Mr Tehan proposes to finalise state school funding negotiations before the Victorian government goes into caretaker mode on October 30.
He says that if an agreement isn't reached by the end of the year, the federal government can't process funding to state schools, and asks the Victorian government to cover the cost if that's the case.
The states are concerned with the federal government's recently announced $4.6 billion peace-deal with Catholic and independent schools.
Mr Merlino and NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes say the deal is unfair and state schools should receive an equal funding boost.
Mr Tehan has said federal funding to public schools is at record levels, going from $6.8 billion last year to $7.3 billion this year and $7.9 billion the following year.
Mr Tehan says the Victorian minister has not taken up his offer of a briefing.
"By the end of tomorrow I would have spoken to every state and territory education minister, except for James Merlino," Mr Tehan said on Thursday.
Mr Stokes says he will "very forcefully" argue for extra state school funding over 10 years when he meets with Mr Tehan on Friday.
The state minister believes the funding directly undermines the key principles of the Gonski funding model.
"If we don't provide funding equally, we run the risk of entrenching inequality, and we will see the social impacts of that in 10 and 20 years time."
