I refer to a quote your paper (June 4, 2008) has attributed to Brenton Osborne, Port Augusta Secondary School principal that “people going to the mines are getting $12,000 to send their kids off to private education in Adelaide,” and that “they will probably take up that option over school here”.

Not every person working in the local mining industry is a permanent employee of BHP Billiton at Olympic Dam and qualified by virtue of residence, and other criteria for this benefit.

Contracted employees are not routinely eligible for this benefit, yet make up a large proportion of the working population at Olympic Dam Mine.

It is also my understanding that this benefit is also only paid to eligible BHP Billiton employees whose children’s subject needs are unable to be met by the local school.

Historically I believe this allowance was put in place to compensate WMC employees for the loss of the Remote and Isolated Childrens' Education Allowance when the Roxby Downs School became an Area School catering to senior secondary years.

How that allowance can be realistically factored into the future population needs at Port Augusta Secondary School, would seem to require a lot more than a false presumption as a starting point.

Heather Hancock