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SMH - Scn Schools get 1.6 million gov't money

Kookaburra

Gold Meritorious Patron
Sydney Morning Herald sinks their teeth into the cult today. :D

Who has firsthand data on the $1m donation Yarralinda gave to the Ideal Org fund? perhaps SMH and the state and federal education depts would be interested in that.



http://www.smh.com.au/national/schools-linked-to-scientology-will-get-16m-20091201-k3y3.html

Schools linked to Scientology will get $1.6m
ANNA PATTY EDUCATION EDITOR
December 2, 2009

FEWER than 100 children will benefit from more than $1.6 million in Federal Government subsidies over four years to two schools strongly linked to the Scientology movement.

The Athena School in Newtown will receive $751,519 in recurrent funding from the Federal Government for the 2009 to 2012 funding period. It has also been allocated $135,287 for a new library, $114,713 for primary classroom refurbishments and $50,000 for other refurbishments under the Rudd Government's Building the Education Revolution program.

The Athena School is licensed by Applied Scholastics International, which has strong links to Scientology. The school's website says it teaches from the booklet The Way to Happiness, written by Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard.

The Federal Government will provide an estimated $367,000 over the four-year funding cycle to the Yarralinda School in Mooroolbark, Victoria, which has about 30 students and uses teaching methods developed by Applied Scholastics.

The school's website says the education services and materials are based on Hubbard's works.

A NSW Greens MP, John Kaye, said the Athena School had enrolled fewer than 50 students last year, according to NSW Government figures. He said the Rudd Government, despite its concerns about Scientology, had endorsed the use of public money to support a school that promoted Hubbard's teaching.

''Public funding to the Scientology schools promotes the teachings of an organisation that has been accused of intimidation, blackmail and fraud.''

The executive director of the Association of Independent Schools, Geoff Newcombe, said the school was registered by the NSW Board of Studies ''and as such, is entitled to a certain level of Government funding for both recurrent and capital purposes''.

A spokeswoman for the Board of Studies said the Athena School was registered to teach kindergarten to year 10, but was not accredited to offer the school certificate.
 

Carmel

Crusader
As far as I know it did, but I'm just trying to remember who told me.
I've emailed some mates to try and find out. Others could do the same. If this is true, then this info needs to be forwarded onto the pollies and the media.
 

Feral

Rogue male
It's true, the school took a mortgage on it's building for the church that was off set by some pledges from scios, to my knowledge none of the pledges have been honoured to date, interest is acruing.

It was done in the heat of the moment to get the ideal org over the line.
 

Kookaburra

Gold Meritorious Patron
It's true, the school took a mortgage on it's building for the church that was off set by some pledges from scios, to my knowledge none of the pledges have been honoured to date, interest is acruing.

It was done in the heat of the moment to get the ideal org over the line.

Yeah, that's what I heard. Thanks, Feral.
 
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