To outsiders, Redeemer Baptist School in North Parramatta may seem an exemplar of private school education. But the academic achievements, state-of-the art facilities and mid-range $10,000-a-year fees conceal a darker reality.
An investigation by the Herald’s Emily Kowal has revealed serious allegations of control, exploitation and questionable financial dealings.
Dozens of former students, school staff and grandchildren of founding church members came forward and described an institution that engineered lives, vetoed careers and marriage options and controlled discretionary spending.
Redeemer is run entirely by volunteers – members of the ministry order of Redeemer Baptist Church, a fundamentalist, patriarchal community controlled by a handful of omnipotent and intertwined families.
The school operates without a single paid employee. Instead, teachers and support staff are classified as volunteers, relying on a small stipend and, for some, Centrelink benefits. Superannuation does not appear an option.
In the past decade, school income was about $106.7 million, comprising $52.7 million in government grants and $54 million in parent fees and other income.
Our investigation attempted to trace where the money went and found a highly complex, legally protected, closed-loop system between the school and 10 commercial businesses it runs.
Sydney University Accounting Professor Clinton Free told the Herald the model appeared to allow the network to have it both ways: the benefits of charitable status and the advantages of keeping commercial activity largely in-house.
“What deserves scrutiny is the combination: public-facing charity status, internally controlled service provision, related party flows and a governance structure that appears highly concentrated,” he said.
In a statement, Redeemer said: “Just because our practices are unfamiliar, it does not mean they are unlawful, coercive or abusive, and we reject the attempt to portray us as anything other than a law-abiding community with strong Christian faith and practices.”
State Education Minister Prue Car and her federal counterpart, Jason Clare, said allegations were “deeply concerning” and “very serious”. The federal Education Department and the NSW Education Standards Authority are investigating. Both investigations are essential; this is a significant amount of public money funding an arrangement that while legal, is ethically questionable.
Some of the students at Redeemer had parents in the church who chose the school because of its values, and they knew what to expect. But many parents were outsiders and chose the school based on other attributes, such as exam results and discipline. They would have had no idea of the unorthodoxy of its approach until their children lived it.
This case highlights a reality of Australia’s schooling system, that independent schools in Australia, the vast majority of which are religious, are at liberty within certain constraints to espouse the values of their religion which in NSW schools ranges from mainstream faiths to Scientology, and still receive public funding.
The constraints include registration requirements addressing child protection and safety. Schools are also required to teach the official NSW syllabuses in the classroom. There are additional reporting requirements for those (the vast majority) that receive public funding, but they’re limited.
Many have argued against funding for private schools for many years, or called for greater transparency over their use of public money, but there is no political appetite to act.
We’re left with a situation in which the responsibility for thoroughly checking a school’s beliefs lies with parents. Research into a private school should always extend beyond its exam results to its philosophies and values, so families can ensure they’re comfortable with their child spending formative years in that environment.
The lesson for parents considering a non-government, faith-based school is to do their homework. Kowal’s stories about Redeemer Baptist School should be a cautionary tale.
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