10-Year Financial Trajectory (2016β2025)
Click or hover any year bar to inspect figures and open the official published report.
Accounts-Derived Forensic Ratios (2018β2025)
Benchmarked against Principal Network and Statewide averages.
Investigative AI Data Helper
Ask any question or click a prompt pill. Grounded strictly in official SPARO records.
Click any prompt pill above or type a question. The helper executes instant filters against the 21,257-report dataset and formats a cited briefing.
Complete 10-Year Financial & SBAR Budget Ledger (2016β2025)
Every figure in white/neutral columns is verbatim as printed in the NSW Department of Education Annual Report. Hover ? on any header for official policy definitions.
Network & Peer Comparison
Comparing the selected focus school against every school in the same Principal Network, similar enrolment band, or all Special Schools.
Statewide School Financial Rankings & Multi-Year Screener
Filter and screen all 2,203 NSW public schools by single-year figures, overnight sweeps, or multi-year shifts. Click any school name to jump to its 10-year profile.
Where Did $3.44 Billion (~$3.5B) in NSW Public School Funding Go? (2020β2025)
Every figure below comes directly from the schools' own signed Page 1 Financial Summary and Page 2 SBAR Budget allocations across all 2,203 NSW public schools (114 Principal Networks), calibrated at 99.8% against NSW Parliamentary Budget Estimates.
Between 2020 and 2025, NSW public school students took a $3.44 Billion gross hit ($2.95 Billion net after excluding $487.2M in unspent off-budget cash that Head Office pumped in and swept back from the same schools) across two connected waves:
Non-salary running and contractor costs (OpEx) surged +$2,077.71M ($2.08B) above every school's pre-2020 baseline β funded (99.05% match = $2,058.03M) by diverting $1.09 Billion ($1,092.4M) away from classroom teachers, ESL, disability, and COVID tutoring wages, spending $533.8 Million of unexplained off-budget Head Office cash top-ups, and burning $424.1 Million of schools' pre-2021 savings.
After pumping +$1,372.3M ($1.37B) of off-budget cash (Non-SBAR) into schools during 2021β2023, Head Office clawed back -$1,360.03M (-$1.36B, 99.11% match) β wiping out the remaining $378.7Mβ$382.7M in pre-2021 school savings, raiding $225.0 Million in unspent teacher/ESL balances from compliant schools, stripping $112.94 Million in hard cash from 140 Special Schools for disabled children, and causing post-payroll classroom cash to collapse by -$786.5 Million (-59.1%) in 2024.
The $1.46 Billion School Bank Balance & The "Use It or Lose It" Trigger
- What the Government announced (Oct 2021): Then-Minister Sarah Mitchell told NSW Parliament (Budget Estimates Hansard) that public schools held $1.466 Billion in accumulated cash reserves at the start of 2021 (
1 Jan 2021total across all 2,203 schools in our dataset: $1,462.96 Million β a 99.8% match). - The Three Bank Buckets (
PD-2021-0475-01): That$1.463Bsat in two existing buckets β ~$756.0M in accumulated Government savings (Fund 6101) and ~$710.0M in untouchable Parent, P&C & community funds (Fund 6300) β alongside each year's new operating budget (Fund 6100). Principals were promised until 31 December 2025 to spendFund 6101on local school upgrades and co-funded works with School Infrastructure NSW (SINSW).
The Gharibeh Contractor Fraud Pattern β And a $2.08 Billion Statewide Spending Blowout
- The Documented Anchor Case (
$1.4Mβ$2.0MCharged vs$5.8Mβ$8.8Mon the Books): In late 2024 / early 2025, NSW Police (Strike Force Heidi) charged former Principal Rabieh Gharibeh ( & ), contractor Ahmed Charchouh, and ex-police officer Adnan Cheikho over $1.4Mβ$2.0M in fraudulent building and maintenance invoices. Yet the published Annual Reports show non-wage running and contractor costs (OpEx) at Gharibeh's schools blew out by $5.8M to $8.8M above baseline ($8.78Mcumulative excess at Granville South +$1.67Mat Sir Joseph Banks) β 3 to 4 times the amount charged β funded by off-budget Head Office cash top-ups ($3.34Mraw /$1.79Mpure at Granville South), burning$2.00Mβ$2.07MinFund 6101savings, quadrupling ESL (EAL/D) claims (+$2.43M), and diverting unspent teacher/tutoring wage budgets ($4.92Mcombined wage diversion). - The Statewide Reality ($2.08 Billion Blowout Across 2,203 Schools): Screening all 2,203 schools for that exact four-part fingerprint (, , , ) reveals a $2,077.71M ($2.08B) statewide blowout. Department line-item accounts (
2016 OASIS) prove only 16.3% of schoolOpExis property maintenance (9.3%) or minor capital works (7.0%) β 83.7% is general contractors, vendors, and supplies. - Where the $2.08B Came From (99.05% / $2,058.03M Reconciled):
1. $1,092.36M (52.6%) Diverted From Classroom Teacher, ESL, Disability & COVID Tutoring Wages: Across 1,411 schools, self-reported ESL and Disability claims spiked by $1.80 Billion without matching enrolment growth β pushing 512 principals across personal salary thresholds (+$21.76M in personal pay rises) before 785 schools crashed their claims by 25%β93% once audited in 2023β2025. 153 schools collected $56.25M in ESL funding with 0.0 FTE specialist ESL teachers. Out of $3.19 Billion ($3,194.03M) in gross unspent formula budgets + tied COVID tutoring (ILSP) grants (after stripping$1.28Bin normalPer Capita / Locationutilities budgets and pre-2019 baselines), $1.09 Billion was diverted straight into vendor/running costs (OpEx).
2. $533.75M (25.7%) From Pure Unexplained Off-Budget Head Office Cash Top-Ups: Stripping $693.87Mβ$802.31M in tied COVID tutoring & teacher grants from Head Office's +$1,372.30M off-formula cash injection leaves $678.43 Million in pure unexplained sundry maintenance/contractor top-ups β of which $533.75M walked straight out the door viaOpEx.
3. $424.10M (20.4%) Burned Out of Pre-2021 School Savings (Fund 6101).
The Government Admitted Taking ~$400M + $148M ($524M). The Books Show -$1.36 Billion.
- What the Government Admitted (Sydney Morning Herald, May & August 2024): When principals went to the Herald after millions vanished from their bank accounts, the Government admitted to two cuts totaling ~$524Mβ$543M: (1) freezing/taking back $376Mβ$395M (~$400M) by shutting down the remaining balance of pre-2021 school savings (
Fund 6101) 20 months before the promised December 2025 deadline; and (2) cutting $148 Million (1.25%) from 2024 school operating budgets (Fund 6100), blaming "falling enrolments" and "unspent teacher vacancy funds." - What the Government Left Out β The Undisclosed -$712.19M Stage 1 Sweeps (2022β2024): The school books confirm the April 2024 cuts (Stage 2: -$143.35M in 2024 mid-year budget clawbacks across 655 targeted schools + -$378.65M / -$382.72M in
Fund 6101shutdown across 2024β2025, including-$257.09Mswept on 1 Jan 2025, leaving $907.61M in surviving untouchable Parent/P&CFund 6300cash). - Stage 2 Was Less Than Half the Story: Between January 2022 and January 2024, Head Office had already secretly swept -$712.19 Million out of school bank accounts on New Year's Day (
-$185.41Mon 1 Jan 2022,-$255.82Mon 1 Jan 2023, and-$270.96Mon 1 Jan 2024) β matching the $678.43M hole from its own unexplained off-budget sundry top-ups at 95.3% (r = 0.941 across all 114 networks)! - The -59.1% (-$786.5M) Classroom Cash Collapse: Including
-$247.41Min 2024β2025 formula docks, total takebacks reached -$1,360.03 Million (-$1.36 Billion β 99.11% of the +$1,372.30M off-budget surge). Because the October 2023 Teacher Salary Award (+$659.6Min 2024 payroll) ate 101.5% of the Government's+$649.6Mformula increase while Head Office slashed off-budget cash by-$776.6M, cash left to run classrooms after staff wages collapsed by -$786.5 Million (-59.1%) in 2024.
How 140 Special Schools Were Raided for $112.9 Million (451%) to Balance Network Quotas
- Why Were Blowout Schools Spared While Disabled Kids Paid the Bill? Across NSW, 83 mainstream schools received $42.07 Million in off-budget top-ups and had $0.00 (0%) swept or clawed back, and principals at major blowout schools (such as ,
+$6.42MexcessOpEx) were promoted to Network Director (DEL). - 31 Principal Networks Match Within Β±5% (100.66% Aggregate Match): Instead of auditing compromised contractors, Head Office enforced payback quotas by DEL Principal Network: across 31 Principal Networks (608 schools), total cash clawed back matches the network's prior off-budget surge within Β±5% (100.66% match) β e.g.
Bungarribee Networkis off by just +$4,499 on $20.01M (100.02%), andGoulburn Networkis off by -$5,269 on $11.08M (99.95%). - Who Paid When Mainstream Schools Had Empty Pockets: Because mainstream schools had already spent the cash on contractors, Network Directors balanced their quotas by:
1. Raiding $224.99 Million ($225M) from neighbouring compliant schools' unspent teacher & ESL budgets during Stage 1; and
2. Seizing $112.94 Million in hard cash ($118.30M total settled) from 140 Special Schools (SSPs& Hospital Schools) for profoundly disabled children against just $25.06M ($25.07M) in 2019-base excess (450.6% extraction rate / +$87.87M net raid β including$5.26Mstripped from 4 Special Schools inLiverpoolled by ,$4.17Mfrom &Niland SSPinMount Druitt, and$1.79Mfrom &Coreen SSPinBungarribeeon just$5,062of 2019-base excess).
System Expenditure & Cash Trajectory
Visualizing the 2021β2023 surge in contractor & off-formula expenditure, followed by the sharp 2024 contraction.
"Who Got Hit vs Who Didn't" β School Quadrant Plot
Click any school dot to open its 10-Year Profile. Hover for exact figures.
Total Cash Removed by Directorate (2022β2025)
Cumulative Overnight Sweeps (1 Jan 2022β2025) + 2024 In-Year Clawbacks
Statewide Annual Summary Ledger (2016β2025)
Aggregated system-wide figures across all public schools in the active cohort.
| Calendar Year | Schools Reporting | Total Enrolment | Total Revenue ($) | Appropriation ($) | SBAR Formula Budget ($) | Staffing Spent (|Employee|) ($) | CALC Post-Payroll Classroom Cash ($) | Running Costs (|OpEx|) ($) | CALC Non-SBAR Cash Gap ($) | Year-End Closing Cash ($) | CALC 1 Jan Overnight Sweep ($) | CALC In-Year Clawback (<$0) ($) | CALC Baseline Docks (2024β25) ($) | CALC Total Takebacks ($) |
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