The Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn has defended spending $400,000 on the launch of its new strategic plan.
Representatives from schools across the region are to gather at the National Convention Centre on August 20 to celebrate the launch of the Apostolic Action Plan.
Regional NSW schools will be involved in activities at regional hubs on the same day.
In the evening the Archdiocese will host a ball at the National Convention Centre and it is understood a magician has been engaged to entertain guests during dinner.
The Canberra Times understands the Catholic Education Board was aware of reputational risks associated with spending this sum of money on the launch while some school facilities need upgrading and school principals face budget pressures.
Executive director David de Carvalho said the cost of the event was modest and was being met from revenue sources other than government funding or school fees.
"The cost, which covers transport, accommodation costs, catering, venue hire, printing, and photography, is modest," Mr de Carvalho said
"The cost of this event is considerably less than the cost of a similar event in 2023 for the launch of the Catalyst program.
"The light entertainment for the dinner has not yet been finalised."
Independent Education Union of Australia (IEU) NSW/ACT branch secretary Carol Matthews said all non-government school employers needed to be transparent and accountable for expenditure of both parent fees and public money.
"The IEU is not aware of the breakdown of the reported expenditure to implement the Apostolic Action Plan, nor how much is for the launch and how much is for curriculum writing and teacher development," Ms Matthews said.
"Our members would be interested to see the details given expenditure is tightly controlled at the individual school level."
Archbishop Christopher Prowse was asked whether he supported the $400,000 budget for the launch event.
The Archbishop directed questions to the Vicar for Education Dr Patrick McArdle.
"The launch of the Apostolic Action Plan is not a single isolated event," Dr McArdle said.
"It involves combining an annual event which already exists with a number of activities that have been held separately in the past, so as to provide a unified chance to celebrate the plan, involve the staff, students and families in the celebration."
Dr McArdle said the event would reinforce the mission of Catholic education across the Archdiocese.
"This way of proceeding shows a good sense of stewardship and represents a major commitment to the future of our schools," he said.
"It is similar in nature to other events held in 2017 and 2023 where all the staff of our schools were brought together to celebrate our common mission in Catholic education."
He said it was highly likely there would be some form of entertainment at the dinner.
The Apostolic Action Plan promises to be a new vision for the Catholic school system for 2027 to 2033.
The first goal of the plan is that "faith oxygenates every learning area in the curriculum," which means that all areas of learning will have religious education woven into them.
The second goal of the plan is "every school achieves above-expected growth in literacy and numeracy."
Mr de Carvalho said it would be a significant event for the Catholic education system, involving more than 1000 students, school leaders, clergy, and religious education leaders.
"This Apostolic Action Plan will help ensure the education we provide is second-to-none in terms of academic excellence as well as being faithful to our mission of spreading the Gospel," he said.
"We recognise the financial pressure that many of our families experience, which is why our fees are very modest, and we welcome conversations with any parent who has concerns about the affordability of enrolling their child in one of our schools."
