‘Big business’: Principals say their role has been taken over by grant writing

Drawing on interviews with 18 school leaders, Deakin University’s education researcher Dr Emma Rowe and PhD candidate Sarah Langman from Australian Catholic University have highlighted how principals are labouring away in pursuit of extra funds via applications to state government.

Langman told EducationHQ it was surprising to find that grant writing had become “quite a big business” in the sector.

“Some schools are resorting to hiring professional grant writers to try and secure some of the bigger grants, [and they] are getting paid with a proportion of the successful funding…” she said.

“When you see some of the big grants, and how much they’re for, you can understand why it’s really crucial for schools to get this right  – and often principals are not trained in grant writing.”

Many principals are ‘driving blind’ when navigating the application process, the researcher added.

“With the department grants, the process is often quite opaque in terms of feedback – there’s not a lot of feedback on applications or ‘what you could do better’.

“But [principals] still do it, because they want to make sure that they’re providing the best resources that they can for their families and their students. That’s at the heart of it.”

It was often the case that principals were applying for funds to pay for works or resources that would be considered ‘fundamental’ within public education, such as services to facilitate functioning toilets, fix roofs and retaining walls etc, the study found.

School leaders were also applying for disability support grants and money to fund student wellbeing initiatives.

Langman said principals were acutely cognisant of the “the private school down the road that has the mega swimming pool facilities and state-of-the-art library”.

“There’s a real awareness of that disjuncture,” she explained.

“But public principals are so aware that what they’re asking for is actually just the basic infrastructure – they’re not asking for state-of-the-art facilities, that’s just something that, as public school principals, they accept that they’re not going to have access to under our current funding situation,” Langman said.

However, the leaders also knew it was their responsibility to ensure the health and safety of their workplace checked out, she added. 

“They also acknowledged that if something goes wrong in their schools then the buck really stops with them.

“So, one principal spoke about the old sash windows in one of the classrooms … this is a fundamental safety issue. 

“He’d tried to force those windows to stay closed permanently. He’d tried to take them down, he’d put notes on them.

“But the reality is, a relief teacher [could come] in and try the windows. And he spoke so passionately about the safety issues around this – that it could take a student's hand off.”

Another principal lamented the dilapidated state of the old toilets still on campus.

“These occupational health and safety things just wouldn’t fly in in any other workplace. So why should our kids and our public school teachers and principals be subject to those sort of working conditions?” Langman queried.

The school funding system was described as ‘adversarial, competitive and punitive’ in its approach by public school principals. 

Significant funding shortfalls were reported by the majority of principals surveyed, who reported they were left to their own devices to hustle for the full sum required.

“One of our Victorian principals spoke about a retaining wall, for example. And he reached out and applied for a grant for it.

“It was a $100,000 job, but the Department only allocated him $4000 to complete it…”

Ther school leader detailed the absolute bind of the situation, Langman said.

The school funding system was described as “adversarial, competitive and punitive” in its approach, the researchers found, with principals compelled to dedicate a significant amount of their personal and professional time to putting together grant applications.

Most felt this took them away from their most critical work in schools, Langman said.

“We know that working extensive hours isn’t uncommon for principals. Unfortunately, it is part and parcel with the job … but I think for the principals, the key issue was that this took them away from their core business.

“They really wanted to connect with their students. They wanted to connect with their families and be that visible presence across the school.

“And when they go to sit down in an office and put together a really complex grant application, then it takes them away from [all that].”

One key finding was the tension caused by an increasingly decentralised schooling system coupled with stricter accountability measures – a paradox Langman said became quite problematic for principals in the context of securing grants.

“So for example, if the principals are in receipt of these big grants, then it also comes then with the pressure of supplying lots of evidence to demonstrate how and where every dollar was actually spent and accounted for.

“And the common [message was]: the more money, basically, the more red tape that you have to work your way through.

“It’s not like these principals are just being handed over the money – they’ve done all the leg work for it,” the researcher said.

Some school leaders spoke of the extreme departmental oversight that came with acquiring funds.

Langman said one described how the department could reject applications if schools were found to have “money in the bank to do it themselves”.

“What it doesn’t take into account, is that those funds are actually allocated to other crucial resources…"

Ultimately, our principals didn’t sign up to be skilled grant writers, and as a society we should want more for the students and staff in our public schools, Langman argued.

“We actually just want the department to have trust and respect for the principals – and that if they say that they’re requiring these basic, rudimentary, fundamental health and safety things for their school and for their learners, then they’re trusted with that and the funds are allocated accordingly.”

The study comes as the Federal Government mounts pressure on five states to sign a controversial new school funding agreement tied to performance targets and key reforms.