Superintendents push back on next year's education grants, citing supplementary budget gap

The Korea Superintendents Association pushed back Wednesday against the government's claim that local education finance grants will increase 10.1 percent next year, saying the actual growth rate is no more than 3.2 percent once the supplementary budget is taken into account. The association also called for consultations with schools before any overhaul of the grants formula and demanded the release of long-term fiscal projections.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the association criticized the government's 2027 budget proposal — which the Cabinet approved Tuesday and presupposes a restructuring of the grants system — saying it was adopted "without sufficient consultation with schools or broader social deliberation."

The association said the government based its 10.1 percent growth claim on this year's original budget of 71.67 trillion won ($52.3 billion), under which next year's grants would rise by 7.2 trillion won. Measured against this year's revised figure of 76.44 trillion won — which incorporates the supplementary budget — the actual increase amounts to only about 2.4 trillion won.

"When the supplementary budget is factored in, the growth rate falls to 3.2 percent, which is below next year's civil servant pay raise of 3.9 percent, making it difficult to cover rising fixed costs such as personnel expenses," the association said, urging the government to justify scrapping the current system, under which 20.79 percent of domestic tax revenue is allocated as education grants.

The association also said that even as student enrollment declines, the number of schools, classes and teaching staff does not shrink at the same rate, while demand for special education, foundational learning support and after-school care continues to grow. It called on the government to release projected grant levels for 2027 through 2030 under both the current formula and the proposed new one, along with the cumulative difference between the two.

On the proposed future-response fund, the association said spending was concentrated on early childhood education, childcare, and support for universities and youth, and called for a legal provision explicitly guaranteeing the stable development of kindergarten, elementary and secondary education.

With the government set to submit its budget proposal to the National Assembly on Thursday, the association said it would actively work to ensure that the views of schools are reflected during the legislative review of both the budget and related bills.