In a submission to a senate committee on school funding, Mr Rockliff said state schools would be $100 million worse off in 2018 and 2019 without the Gonski funding.

“It is considered that only committing to four years of Students First funding will not be sufficient to see the levels of sustainable generational change that we all want to see,” he said.

Mr Rockliff said public school funding would be hit again from 2018 when the federal government changed its funding distribution method.

“The effective impact is approximately $14 million or a 7.5 reduction in government school funding,” he said.

Mr Rockliff said he wished to discuss with the federal government early childhood education funding after 2017 and finalise reviews into loading for students of low socio-economic status and students with disabilities.

“Tasmania has the highest level of socio-economic disadvantage of any state or territory, presenting my government with a range of challenges,” he said.

Australian Education Union state branch president Helen Richardson said Tasmanian schools had many children with high and complex needs which presented serious learning barriers.

“Schools cannot afford to be denied $100 million in funding – that pays for the essentials like more teachers, smaller classes, more individual tuition, and targeted support with literacy and numeracy,” she said.

“Our schools can least afford cuts and underfunding if our students are to have the opportunity to get ahead with their education.”