ISOLATED and more challenging schools may struggle to attract good teachers under changes to be trialled in Tasmanian schools next year, the Australian Education Union has warned.
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Federal School Education Minister Peter Garrett yesterday confirmed the Empowering Local Schools program would include giving individual schools the power to employ teachers, with input from parents.
AEU Tasmanian president Leanne Wright said it was important the education department remained responsible for deploying staff to ensure disadvantaged schools did not miss out.
"Some schools are easier to staff than others because they're more attractive than others for one reason or another," Ms Wright said.
She was also concerned about school boards being given the power to hire and fire principals.
"Often with school boards they're not necessarily people with an education background," she said.
A trial of the program next year will involve 29 Tasmanian schools.
State Education Minister Nick McKim said the state's schools already had a high level of control over decisions on infrastructure, staffing and budget allocations.
"This policy would further expand that responsibility to parents, allowing them to be more actively involved in the decisions that directly affect their children's education," he said.
He said the state education department would provide support to schools and parent groups involved in the trial.
"The rollout of this program must be measured and well considered so that student learning doesn't suffer as a result," Mr McKim said.
