Friday 13 July 2018

They're just taking the piss now.


Saint Ignatius' was one of the most overfunded schools in Sydney, receiving 263 per cent of its Schooling Resource Standard, in 2014. It is fundraising for $150million.

It is now one of 102 private schools receiving bonus government payments.


The head of the fundraising arm at one of Sydney's most expensive private schools has been fired for alleged financial misconduct.

The heads of Saint Ignatius' College Riverview say they have reported alleged "admissions of financial misconduct" by its director of advancement Aleks Duric to the police. The school is also conducting its own investigation, according to an email sent by its acting principal, rector and board chairman to parents on Wednesday.

"We have recently dismissed the director of advancement following admissions of financial misconduct," the email states.

"The college has reported these matters to the police and we have also launched our own investigation.

"As these matters are subject to formal investigation I know you will understand we are unable to disclose the detail of what is alleged to have occurred.

"What I can say at this time is that the admissions made relate to specific financial transactions.

"As a college we are reliant on the generosity of our community and that is why we have acted quickly and decisively on this issue."

Mr Duric was leading a campaign to raise funds for a $150 million school redevelopment in his role as head of Saint Ignatius' office of advancement, which is responsible for fundraising and donations, including those from alumni and parents.

Saint Ignatius' College, the alma mater of former prime minister Tony Abbott and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, has an annual fee of $28,200 for year 11 and 12 students this year.

It raised a total of $43.1 million from fees, contributions and other private sources and received additional funding of $8.2 million from the NSW and federal governments in 2016, according to the latest MySchool figures.

Before he started at Saint Ignatius', Mr Duric led "major gift development programs across 11 faculties" at the University of Sydney, and reportedly oversaw contributions of more than $80 million every year.

He was also formerly the fundraising and public relations manager for the Paraplegic and Quadriplegic Association of NSW.

He is currently listed as a director at the non-government international development agency Cufa.

Notes from Mr Duric providing updates on building programs and fundraising activities are included regularly in Saint Ignatius' newsletter and he is also mentioned in the latest annual report.

"In the area of fundraising there was mutual support for the targets and priorities of each, which Aleks Duric (director of advancement) was responsive to throughout the course of the year," the report states.


Mr Duric also wrote a letter to its old boys last year to dismiss rumours of a large financial donation by the late businessman Paul Ramsay and to encourage contributions.

"It was having in some respects a negative impact," he told the Australian.

"It's funny how these sorts of things take off."

Saint Ignatius' was one of the most overfunded schools in Sydney, receiving 263 per cent of its Schooling Resource Standard, a measure for how much government funding schools are entitled to, in 2014, according to federal Department of Education data.

It is now one of 102 private schools receiving bonus government payments to help it to transition to the new Gonski 2.0 funding model, under which its public funding will be reduced.

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