A former principal with 32 years in education has urged parents of year 6 students to look past marketing and fee schedules when choosing a high school, arguing that the perception gap between public and private schools was constructed, while underfunding was a policy choice rather than a verdict on quality.
Adam Voigt, a former principal and now CEO of Real Schools, wrote in an opinion piece for Nine newspapers that the question 'Is our local school good enough for my child?' has been engineered over decades to point parents towards waiting lists and unmanageable fees.
Voigt said the consistent predictors of good life outcomes for children are a relational culture where students feel known and safe, teacher quality and stability, leadership that fosters deep belonging, and a community with a shared sense of purpose. 'None of these are owned by a sector and none appear in any fee schedule,' he wrote.
He advised parents to visit a prospective school on an ordinary Tuesday, not an open day, and to observe how teachers talk to students in the corridor and whether the principal knows children by name.
Australia's PISA results show that 30 per cent of students do not feel they belong at school, Voigt noted. He said belonging is 'the engine of learning', and that sorting children by the financial means of their parents makes belonging harder to build.
On school funding, Voigt pointed out that Victoria and NSW public schools will not be fully funded until 2034 under recent government deals. Victoria is currently the lowest-funded public school system in the country. The underfunding that has made parents anxious about public schools, he argued, 'was not a verdict on their quality. It was a policy choice.'
Mark Morris and John Bush, co-convenors of Schools For All Australia, were quoted saying: 'By continuing to under-resource public schools we have, as a nation, pushed parents to feel like better-resourced schools are a better choice. In many ways this is a false narrative.'
Voigt noted that Canada sends 92 per cent of its children to public schools. 'What it has built, over generations, is a school system that functions as a piece of civil infrastructure, like a road or a hospital, but not a market.'
He concluded by urging parents to ask not just whether a school is good enough, but what kind of adult they want their child to become, adding: 'The evidence suggests the answer, more often than the marketing implies, is the school at the end of your street.'
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Shifts the conversation about school choice from private-vs-public binary to what research says actually drives outcomes: belonging, teacher quality and community.
- Challenges parents who feel pressured to choose private schools to consider the civic value of supporting local public schools.
- Highlights that school funding shortfalls are a deliberate policy choice, not a reflection of public school quality.
Background
Voigt spent 32 years as a teacher, principal and system leader. His piece appears as Victorian and NSW public schools face years before full funding under Gonski-style deals, with the Victorian government facing a state election weeks away.
Key Perspectives
Adam Voigt (former principal, CEO of Real Schools): argues the question 'Is our local school good enough?' has been engineered to push parents towards private schools with waiting lists and fees, and that the real predictors of good outcomes are belonging, teacher quality, leadership and shared purpose, none of which are sector-specific.
Mark Morris and John Bush (co-convenors, Schools For All Australia): said 'By continuing to under-resource public schools we have, as a nation, pushed parents to feel like better-resourced schools are a better choice. In many ways this is a false narrative.'
What to Watch
- The outcome of the Victorian state election, which Voigt notes could affect whether the promised public school funding deal proceeds.
- Whether other states follow with their own full-funding timelines as pressure grows from advocacy groups like Schools For All Australia.
- How parent attitudes shift if more voices challenge the marketing-driven perception of private school superiority.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe headline says a former principal urges parents to choose their local public school.WA Today - Latest News: “The evidence suggests the answer, more often than the marketing implies, is the school at the end of your street.”
- SupportedThe headline describes the public-private school perception gap as “constructed”.WA Today - Latest News: “The perception gap between sectors worrying parents at kitchen tables wasn’t discovered by them. It was constructed.”
- SupportedThe summary says research identifies belonging, teacher quality and community as more important than facilities or ATAR.WA Today - Latest News: “It isn’t the uniforms or the facilities. Nor is it the student cohort’s socio-economic, religious or ethnic composition. It’s definitely not their latest capital works project or even their median ATAR. The consistent predictors of good life outcomes for children are a relational culture where students feel known and safe; teacher quality and stability; leadership that fosters deep belonging; and a community with a shared sense of purpose.”
- SupportedVoigt says the question “Is our local school good enough for my child?” has been engineered over decades to steer parents towards waiting lists and fees.WA Today - Latest News: “But this particular question has been engineered, over decades, to point parents in a particular direction. It leads towards waiting lists and unmanageable fees.”
- Not in the sourcesVoigt wrote his opinion piece for Nine newspapers.WA Today - Latest News: “National Schools Opinion”
- SupportedVoigt wrote, “None of these are owned by a sector and none appear in any fee schedule.”WA Today - Latest News: “None of these are owned by a sector and none appear in any fee schedule.”
- SupportedVoigt says Australia’s PISA results show 30 per cent of students do not feel they belong at school.WA Today - Latest News: “Australia’s PISA results show that 30 per cent of our students don’t feel they belong at school.”
- SupportedVoigt calls belonging “the engine of learning”.WA Today - Latest News: “What the research also tells us is that belonging is no soft extra – it is the engine of learning.”
- SupportedVictoria and NSW public schools will not be fully funded until 2034.WA Today - Latest News: “What went less celebrated by the pollies is when that full funding arrives: 2034. ... In NSW, government schools also won’t be fully funded until 2034.”
- SupportedVictoria is currently the country’s lowest-funded public school system.WA Today - Latest News: “Victoria is currently the lowest-funded public school system in the country.”
- SupportedVoigt says the underfunding was “not a verdict” on public-school quality but “a policy choice”.WA Today - Latest News: “The underfunding that has made parents anxious about public schools was not a verdict on their quality. It was a policy choice.”
- SupportedMark Morris and John Bush, identified as co-convenors of Schools For All Australia, said that under-resourcing had pushed parents towards better-resourced schools and that this was “a false narrative”.WA Today - Latest News: “Mark Morris and John Bush, co-convenors of Schools For All Australia , put it succinctly: “By continuing to under-resource public schools we have, as a nation, pushed parents to feel like better-resourced schools are a better choice. In many ways this is a false narrative.”