The visit to Yass, led by NSWTF Deputy Secretary of Schools Michelle Rosicky, called on the federal government to honour the Gonski model of funding schools until 2019.

“We’re here today to push the importance of 2018 and 2019. We’ve received one-third of the funding so far. That’s $9.73 million for Eden-Monaro in the first four years,” she said.

A factor the NSWTF wants to communicate to the Turnbull government is the progress so far.

“We’ve gone about 36 kilometres in a 100km walk. So that means for the Eden-Monaro, another $15 million in 2018 and 2019,” Ms Rosicky said.

“We’re not going away, we will continue to push to get all of the Gonski architecture and implementation funding. What we’re fighting for isn’t just about 2018 and 19, it’s about funding well into the future,” she said.

The Turnbull government indicated as far back as mid-2015 that there were no plans to fund the final two years of the $14.5 billion needs-based package, in which the agreement expires at the end of 2017.

Instead, it has considered plans to increase funding by 3.56 per cent across all schools, which would mean the loss of $3.8 billion that is set to be delivered by Gonski in 2018/19.

NSWTF President Maurie Mulheron said that minimum resource standards may not be met should the Gonski model cease in 2018.

“We can’t afford to allow the Turnbull Coalition Government to rip billions of dollars out of education because what is at stake are our children’s futures,” he said.

In Yass, $2.2 million was set for Yass High School and $991,612 for Yass Public School across six years, beginning in 2014.

For Yass High, a highlight of how the funding so far has been allocated was winning the 2015 National Innovative Educators Award for an open-plan environment where students work with community members, including Elders, local business people and councillors.

Other aspects where funding has been directed to are staff collaboration, targeted improvements to teaching practices, an initiative to create proactive student attendances and participation in the Rural Science and Southern Tableland Higher School Certificate network.

In attendance at Yass High School on Tuesday was Pru Goward MP, who has given her support for the campaign and Gonski.

“We [NSW Government] had the choice in 2011. We were facing a huge overall budget deficit and we chose to go with Gonski. Many departments took a cut but education did not because we recognised that it is the future,” she said.

Ms Goward pointed to the positive results so far of funding under the Gonski model.

“The feedback from parents shows that their children are more committed to being at schools; it just say volumes about Gonski, which is why we’re committed to it,” Ms Goward said.

The Gonski bus campaign finished with a protest outside Parliament House, Canberra, on Wednesday, March 22. Schools funding will be discussed at the COAG meeting later in 2017 (date to be confirmed).