Principles of School Resource Allocation

The first principle of resource allocation is to supply a school with the capacity to provide a standard of educational service comparable with all other schools. This approach is similar to the fiscal equalisation concept used by the Commonwealth Grants Commission in the distribution of General Revenue funds to the States.

The approach has several advantages, the two most important being:

the allocation to a school is viewed as an equitable share of the funds available, not as an entitlement;
the relative difficulty experienced by a school in providing an educational service, due to its geographic location, the socio-economic background of its students or the age of its students, is taken into account.

The second basic principle is that resource allocation should be efficient. This relates not only to the efficiency of the process, but also to the efficiency of the system as a whole.

The third basic principle is that accountability should be achieved through outputs, not by controlling inputs. This principle provides schools with the greatest flexibility in the use of resources in achieving their objectives.