Member for Tweed Geoff Provest has today announced that financial support is now available for school communities impacted by the major flooding events in the Tweed with access to up to $1000 for teachers and $500 for students to replace education materials.
The funding is part of the $67 million Education Flood Recovery Package with targeted support for public school teachers and students in the Lismore, Ballina, Byron, Kyogle, Richmond Valley, Clarence Valley and Tweed local government areas.
Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said the recovery grants will help to reduce the financial burden on students and teachers as people continue to rebuild.
“Families can use the student support for school-related expenses such as uniforms, books, pencils, lunch boxes or excursions, recognising that many students in these communities have experienced severe disruption,” Ms Mitchell said.
“For teachers, these funds can be used to continue replacing learning resources, supplies and educational materials,” Ms Mitchell said.
Non-teaching school staff are also eligible for grants of up to $500.
“We know the community is continuing to deal with the trauma from these devastating floods and I also want to provide assurance to students that they will be supported to continue working towards reaching their goals,” Ms Mitchell said.
The financial support for staff will be available until 30 June 2022, while families will be able to access their funds through the remainder of the 2022 and 2023 school years.
Work is continuing to repair and rebuild the physical infrastructure at 21 schools significantly impacted by the floods. The Department of Education is working closely with the school communities and across government to ensure students are back on site and learning in classrooms.