悉尼SMH今天还有一则有趣的报道，是关于政府公立学校和私立学校如何使用政府拨款方面的差异的。
文章比较了学生规模和组成相似两所学校，一所是政府公立小学，一所是私立教会学校，它们就距离几公里远。
两所学校都收到了联邦政府教育革命计划里对于小学的专门财政拨款。
但是两所学校实际得到的有很大的不同。
在悉尼西部Cranebrook的私立教会学校St Paul's Grammar School，拿到了300万，学校计划造一个新的礼堂大楼，包括了一个篮球场，一个舞台和更衣室，音乐房和办公室。
附近的公立小学Penrith Public School拿到了270万，将造一个小型图书馆和两个教室。
在联邦政府教育革命计划里，私立学校和天主教会学校有着更大的自主灵活性来自己决定，学校需要什么样的建造工程和谁来承建工程。
St Paul's Grammar的校长Paul Kidson说，学校很高兴这一大笔钱的注入和他们有如何来花这笔钱的选择权。
他说，我们能够绕过政府官僚机构流程让这些钱能够物尽其用。
St Paul's Grammar的老师Steve Coote说，每个学校使用这些钱过程之间的差异是巨大的，当你比较两所学校的时候，你会质疑钱到哪里去了。
NSW的大部分公立学校都被指定了一个Managing Contractor，这个Managing Contractor然后雇用一个本地的Contractor来完成建造工程。这些公立学校只能选择有限的待造大楼的数量，而且无法保证得到实际学校想要的各项建筑细节。
NSW私校联盟的执行主席Michael Carr同意私立学校比公立学校有很大的自主权。
他说，私立学校已经有了很大的优势，他们能够在联邦政府教育革命计划的指导原则下自己决定其学校设施的工程，包括大楼的设计和其设施最终迎合其实际需要。
学校能够和自己已经有良好关系的建筑师和承包商合作，所以在工程管理过程中的沟通通常都很顺利。
但是NSW小学校长联盟（这个联盟是由天主教会学校，私立学校和公立学校组成的）的主席Geoff Scott说，政府公立学校也被给予了机会管理他们自己的工程。但是这些学校中的大部分都不要这样的选项，其中只有区区4-5所公立学校说要自己管理他们自己的工程。那些想通过自主管理来节省预算的校长们都意识到这是个非常复杂的工作。所以最终大部分的公立小学校长都说他们很高兴和政府指定的Managing Contractor合作。
Scott先生说，事实上政府指定的Manager Contractor们已经在政府的1700所公立学校相关工程里都干的很不错。实际上政府公立学校都在这个游戏里走在了前头，因为政府有现成的学校设施工程的设计，其成本是很容易被控制的。 当然小学校长们要自己干也是完全可以的，只要其工程能够符合教育部的标准。
评论
A tale of public versus private
RACHEL BROWNE
February 28, 2010 - 3:00AM
THEY are two schools with similar student populations only a few kilometres from each other.
Both received similar amounts of funding under the Building the Education Revolution's Primary Schools for the 21st Century program.
But what they got was markedly different.
St Paul's Grammar School, in the western Sydney suburb of Cranebrook, received $3 million, with which it is building a new hall with a basketball court, stage and change rooms, music rooms and offices.
Nearby Penrith Public School was allocated $2.7 million, with which it is getting a small library and two classrooms. Under the way in which the BER is structured, independent and Catholic schools were given greater flexibility to decide what projects they wanted and who would build them.
St Paul's Grammar principal Paul Kidson said the school was grateful for the injection of funds and the choice of how to spend it.
''We have been able to get a maximum result for the money without having to go through a centralised bureaucratic process,'' he said.
St Paul's teacher and doctorate of education student Steve Coote said: ''The difference in what each school is getting is phenomenal.
''When you compare the two, you have to question where the money is going.''
The majority of public schools in NSW have been assigned a managing contractor who then employs a local contractor to carry out the work. They have a limited number of buildings to choose from and no guarantee of getting what they want.
Acting executive director of the Association of Independent Schools of NSW Michael Carr agreed that independent schools had greater scope than their public counterparts.
''Independent schools have benefited from being able to make their own decisions about their building projects within the constraints of the federal government's guidelines for the BER program, including designing buildings and facilities that best suit their needs,'' he said.
''They have also been able to work with builders and architects that they already have a relationship with, so the project management process has generally been quite smooth.''
But Geoff Scott, president of the NSW Primary Principals Association, which represents Catholic, independent and public schools, said government schools were given the opportunity to manage their own projects.
''The vast majority choose not to - only about four or five schools said they wanted to manage their own projects,'' he said.
''Principals who thought they could save money by managing their own projects realised that it was a complex job.
''Eventually the vast majority of principals said they were happy to work with the managing contractors.''
He said the managing contractors had done a good job overseeing projects at about 1700 public schools.
''The reality is government schools are well ahead of the game,'' he said.
''We have buildings up and ready to go. The costs have been managed.
''The alternative was getting principals to manage costs themselves, appoint contractors themselves and ensure all those contractors meet the Department of Education standards.''
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/national/e ... -20100227-pa3l.html
评论
不过就媒体报道的一些公立小学的情况来说，的确有很多不尽如人意的地方。
NSW南部的Berridale Public School里的学生们无法使用造价达91万的新图书馆，因为家长们认为这个建筑有安全隐患，因为整个大楼只有一个出入口，家长们要求增加一个紧急出口是必要的。可笑的是，NSW有几百所公立小学也是用这个相同图书馆大楼的设计，承包商声称符合现行的设计要求。
在NSW北部的Tyalgum Public School，教师和学生们无法使用造价达85万的图书馆和新的办公大楼，因为这两个建筑没有永久的地基。教育部要求这所小学的校长不要堆媒体曝光此事。
悉尼富人区里的Rose Bay Public School的承包商上个星期在工地上挖断了宽带电缆和水管。承包商已经告诉学校他们无法全部满足学校原本工程里的一些项目，比如太阳能板和雨水节水罐，原因是花费已经超过预算了。
政府的教育拨款计划里控制工程的最初预算在过去的一年里已经有了显著的偏差，原来只有花费28.5万的小型图书馆现在实际需要三倍的支出，带顶棚的室外学校场所的实际支出是原先预算的两倍。
政府指定的那些Managing Contractor都自大赶进度，因为提前完成或者准时完成工程，他们将会得到高达百分之几的奖励。
很多学校还抱怨说，他们的工程承包商都不是本地的，有些来自于150-200公里以外的地方。
有很多学校因为原先计划的项目因预算的原因无法完成，不得不在明年重新申请新的拨款来完成那些烂尾项目。
因此反对党的头头Tony在周末讽刺陆克文说，总理所领导的政府在教育拨款项目上的浪费可以得到一枚金牌。
评论
怎么感觉有点像用来赈灾的货款到最后不知道有多少真正用在该用的地方上。
评论
agree WITH 旋版.
评论
是啊， 现在我小孩的小学也同时在建很多东西， 这个小学成了个大工地。
而且明显感觉新工程对原来学校的面貌影响太大了。 很好的一个小学，现在搞得到处都是活动房子，带顶棚的支架。
看样子，Rudd政府用钱也太不考虑了。
评论
School projects … Orange Grove Public School’s new canteen. The building industry defends the cost but critics say taxpayers are being ripped off.
纳税人的钱啊，惊人的浪费啊！一些builder在这场“革命”中要发横财了。。。
The soaring costs of building Rudd's education revolution
February 21, 2010 http://www.smh.com.au/national/e ... -20100220-ompk.html
BUILDERS' mark-ups, management fees and multi-layered bureaucracy are hugely inflating the cost of work under the Building the Education Revolution program, critics say.
Parents and principals have raised concerns that some projects are costing up to 10 times more than regular construction.
Quantity surveyors say a quality one- or two-level commercial building would cost about $2100 a square metre.
At Orange Grove Public School, in Lilyfield, a 25-square-metre canteen is being built for $550,000, or $22,000 a square metre.
Kangaroo Valley Public School has received a 169-square-metre library for $850,000, or $5029 a square metre, and Berridale Public School in the Southern Highlands received a quote for a prefabricated library also amounting to $850,000, or $5660 a square metre.
Louise Appel, secretary of Orange Grove Public School Parents and Citizens Association, said the real cost of the canteen - roughly a third of the size of the original - could be as high as $850,000 once plumbing, drainage and rewiring costs were added. ''We would love to know how a building resembling a cubby house came to be so expensive when it is unacceptable as a school canteen,'' she said.
Federal opposition education spokesman Christopher Pyne said inflated costs were caused by excessive mark-ups, management fees and a complex bureaucratic process.
''I know personally of builders who have been invited to tender for these jobs and they have said, 'No we have enough work on,''' he said.
''The bureaucrats say, 'We don't care - put your quote in.' So the builder thinks, 'OK, I'll mark the price up by 30 per cent, they won't accept it, and they'll leave me alone.'
''Then the bureaucrat comes back and says, 'That's fine'. If the builder knows he can make 30 per cent more why wouldn't he do it?
''There are a lot of builders who will be retiring to their enormous beach houses on the back of this.''
NSW opposition education spokesman Adrian Piccoli said management fees would account for up to a quarter of the state's $3.4 billion Building the Education Revolution funding.
Figures from the NSW Integrated Program Office show management fees will be an average of 4 per cent of funding, the managing contractors profit margin 2.85 per cent and site supervision 6.6 per cent.
The seven NSW managing contractors will also receive an incentive fee, payable if they deliver projects on time and budget, of about 1.64 per cent, or $55 million.
Mr Piccoli, who lives in Griffith, has sought further analysis of the program's costs under freedom-of-information laws. ''I have had a number of comments from schools in my local area about over-inflated construction costs prices and site inspection fees.''
A NSW P&C Federation spokeswoman said: ''There is a lot of frustration about what people see as excessive spending on some buildings.'' But a state Department of Education and Training spokesman said school projects were more expensive than average construction costs because standards were higher.
Managing contractors were also required to take responsibility for safety on more than 1000 primary school sites in NSW, security checks for people working where there were children, and higher insurance cover.
Australian Construction Industry Forum executive director Peter Barda said the complex nature of government work involved a premium.
''A decent quantity surveyor would as a first base think it is quite a high cost per square metre but, if you start stripping out the costs of the project management arrangements, it might look more reasonable,'' Mr Barda said.
''There is a lot of anecdotal information about costs being too high but I don't think there is anything reliable in any of it. It's really tempting for politicians to generalise about costs because it suits them.''
Brian Seidler, executive director of the Master Builders Association of NSW, said: ''What you probably have is someone with some building experience on a P&C saying 'I could do this for half the cost.' In all likelihood he could but would he meet all the DET requirements?''
Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard said: ''Mr Pyne's continued opposition to the largest school modernisation program in the nation's history should alarm parents.''
评论
SMH今天继续报道政府BER里面的种种弊端，承包商们真的是在里面大捞了一票。
You can't fool the children of the school building revolution
RACHEL BROWNE
March 7, 2010
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/you-cant-fool-the-children-of-the-school-building-revolution-20100306-ppn7.html
Grounds for anger …
Stuarts Point Public School where a building is allegedly teetering on its foundations courtesy of two bricks.
FOUR schools have joined forces to protest their dissatisfaction at work undertaken on their grounds as part of the federal schools stimulus building program.
The schools claim some of the costs for parts of the buildings were more than 10 times the standard market rates and some of the workmanship is unsatisfactory.
Representatives from Mid North Coast public schools - at Willawarrin, Eungai, Stuarts Point and Scotts Head - met their local MP and Nationals Leader Andrew Stoner last week to discuss their concerns after being ''stonewalled'' by the NSW Department of Education.
Eungai Public School had been allocated $850,000 for a new two-room classroom under the federal government's Building the Education Revolution scheme (BER). It has been told it is now over budget and will not receive other items it had been promised, such as air-conditioning, interactive whiteboards and covered walkways.
P&C representative Mark Shepherd has investigated the costs and had them independently audited: ''We have a statement of costs which includes some ludicrously elevated figures. We have contacted independent project managers who agree that some of these costs are up to 10 times industry standards.''
The NSW Department of Education has said the buildings are expensive due to superior quality along with the high standard of local contractors undertaking the work. But Mr Shepherd said the school was reluctant to sign off on the classroom as it was unhappy with the quality.
At Stuarts Point Public School, a $931,000 library has been chocked using bricks and wood, which parents consider to be a safety issue.
Willawarrin Public School, allocated $850,000 for a new library, intends to self-fund a fire safety door as the model it is getting only has one entry and exit.
Representatives from Scotts Head, likewise receiving $850,000 for a library, also met with Mr Stoner to raise concerns about the cost.
Mr Stoner said their concerns were valid: ''This is a double slap in the face for public school students and taxpayers alike, from the federal and state Labor governments. Taxpayers are paying too much for substandard facilities.''
He said NSW public school staff and students were suffering due to the mismanagement of the multibillion-dollar Building the Education Revolution program.
''Unfortunately public school principals are shackled to the inefficient state government bureaucracy, which continues to bungle the program,'' Mr Stoner said. ''The mismanagement of this program highlights everything that is bad about state Labor - too much money spent on the wrong outcomes, with school communities, taxpayers and the NSW economy all losing out.''
But a spokesman for the NSW Department of Education said the schools stimulus program had not been mismanaged and represented value for money. He denied Eungai Public School was guaranteed to get air-conditioning, covered walkways and whiteboards.
''Schools receive air cooling according to the department's policy regarding heat zones,'' he said. ''New classrooms being constructed under P21 [Primary Schools for the 21st Century] do not automatically receive interactive whiteboards. A school project includes covered walkways only where this is possible within the school's allocation.''
But the school's listing on the BER website shows it had approved funding for ''interactive whiteboards, a covered outdoor learning area, external movement areas, covered walkways, painting and carpet''.
The department spokesman said the new library at Stuarts Point was still under construction and once finished would be safe to use.
''The building structure has been designed by qualified engineers and the building work has been carried out by licensed builders,'' he said. ''All buildings have to be certified to be in compliance with the Building Code of Australia and all other relevant regulatory body requirements.
''When the building is handed over it will be in compliance with all the above, certifying it safe for occupation and the intended use.''
The library at Willawarrin Public School did not require an extra door for safety reasons, he said.
''To suggest that we are not doing everything we can to keep our students and teachers safe is misleading. A second door in this type of library would be entirely optional and not a safety requirement.''
He said the $850,000 library at Scotts Head Public School was in line with BER costs.
''This project is currently in construction and is being delivered according to the department's strict requirement regarding value for money across the BER program.''
评论
干这些学校活的分包一般至少比普通的贵50%。
一般民用住宅，砖工砌一块面砖收0.9-1刀。学校活至少1.6-2刀。反正是政府和纳税人的钱，多收点也没有人管。managing contractor的项目经理也不会替陆克文把关，只要按工期交工，多少钱都是政府出。
澳洲本来建筑人工就贵，再加上各种overhead，这里翻修几间教室的钱回国绝对可以建一所希望小学。
评论
腐败在有人的地方都是一样的，不分中西。
这些跟国内一条路反反复复挖反反复复修有什么区别，一点区别没有。
以前在国内的时候，我们那儿有名的绿化承包商告诉我，每年他拆花坛再修新的，拔了树再种下去，就这一项就能赚上千万，这还不包括向底下发包转包赚的。
澳洲中文论坛热点
- 悉尼部份城铁将封闭一年，华人区受影响！只能乘巴士（组图）
- 据《逐日电讯报》报导，从明年年中开始，因为从Bankstown和Sydenham的城铁将因Metro South West革新名目而
- 联邦政客们具有多少房产？
- 据本月早些时分报导，绿党副首领、参议员Mehreen Faruqi已获准在Port Macquarie联系其房产并建造三栋投资联