By Deanne Jeffers
BIG bonuses for teachers – a magic bullet for staffing shortages, or a short-term fix? Greater Shepparton Secondary College (GSSC) is in the spotlight for offering teachers up to $80,000 in incentives. While the school hails it as a success in attracting and retaining staff, critics worry it might not be a sustainable solution.
Kim O’Keeffe, State Member for Shepparton District, voiced concerns that the financial incentives wouldn’t lead to lasting improvements. She said, “Whilst this financial incentive may attract teachers to the region, what my concern is the long-term sustainability to keep them here.”
“I’m concerned that this will just be a cash grab for some who only come for the incentive instead of the long-term commitment to the school.”
However, Barbara O’Brien, executive principal of GSSC, defended the incentives. She emphasised that it’s part of a wider, statewide effort to address teacher shortages in specific regions. Ms O’Brien also pointed to the program’s success in retaining teachers, stating, “We’ve had people take on the teacher financial incentive and have stayed with us for years, one teacher came here 20 years ago because of the incentives – so they are not new, or unique to Shepparton.
“Financial incentives have been around for some time now and they are for all schools that are experiencing workforce challenges,” she said.
Under the scheme, all teachers the complete two years of employment become eligible for a retention payment of up to $10,000. Subsequent payments up to $10,000 each are available upon completing the third and fourth years, with a potential total of $80,000 over four years.
Maths teacher Ben Richards serves as a case study. Introduced to the school through an unpaid student placement, he stayed on through the permission-to-teach program and is now pursuing a full-time role.
“For me, the incentives have enabled me to hold onto a job I love. That’s the whole reason four weeks has turned into almost two years,” said Richards.
“Greater Shepparton Secondary College is a fantastic place to start a teaching career. They could offer incentives to teach at any private school, and I would still choose to stay. The incentives only enabled an employment situation I wanted to hold onto.”
While Ms O’Brien emphasised strong support from the Department of Education, O’Keeffe believes a broader review is necessary. She’s concerned about staff and student well-being, citing reports of dysfunction and a lack of support.
O’Brien, with almost 50 years of experience as an educator, firmly refuted these claims. She described the support from the department as “outstanding” and said the college has been praised for its graduate programs and various support available to new and existing staff and students alike.
The Department of Education confirmed that Targeted Financial Incentives are a longstanding program used to attract teachers to regional and staffing-challenged schools across Victoria.
“From its first year of operations, GSSC showed across-the-board improvement in its senior student outcomes,” said a Department of Education spokesperson.
“Incentives are offered for teaches to join many regional or hard-to-staff schools – as one of the largest secondary schools in regional Victoria, Greater Shepparton Secondary College continues to actively recruit for staff vacancies.”
