Inflation, fixed costs could erode school spending despite falling enrollment, they argue Regional education superintendents hold a press conference at the National Assembly on Tuesday, calling for the government to scrap its plan to overhaul the Local Education Finance Grant's allocation system. (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education) South Korea’s regional education chiefs on Tuesday voiced strong opposition to the government’s plan to overhaul the local education finance system, calling for the current formula to remain in place.The Korea Governors of Education Association held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly and issued a joint statement signed by 16 regional education superintendents opposing the proposed changes.Under the government plan, the current system automatically linking the Local Education Finance Grant to 20.79 percent of internal tax revenue would be scrapped. Instead, the grant would be calculated based on factors including nominal economic growth and changes in the school-age population.The council argued that the proposed overhaul could undermine the stability of local education finances and weaken the foundation for future investment.The government has argued that the overhaul seeks to reflect the declining school-age population while maintaining overall education spending.The council, however, rejected the premise that a decline in student numbers should lead to a corresponding reduction in education spending. Fixed costs such as teacher and staff salaries, school operating expenses and spending on facility safety and maintenance do not decline at the same pace, it said.Spending needs have also expanded in areas including artificial intelligence and digital education, personalized learning, support for basic academic skills, student care and safety, and efforts to narrow educational disparities, according to the council.The education chiefs also criticized the government for developing the proposal without sufficient consultation with regional education superintendents, who directly administer local education budgets.They challenged the government’s argument that both the total amount of education grants and funding per student would continue to increase after the overhaul. Even if the total grant remains at the previous year’s level, inflation and rising personnel costs could reduce schools’ actual spending power, the council said.The council called on the government to retain the current 20.79 percent linkage and establish a formal consultative body involving regional education superintendents.Discussions, the council said, should begin again from the ground up, covering not only the grant calculation formula but also the appropriate overall level and stability of local education financing and future spending needs.The regional education offices also said they would take coordinated action against the proposed overhaul. As a first step, they said they would boycott a meeting of regional education office budget chiefs scheduled for Tuesday.The 16 education offices also plan to respond jointly throughout future government and parliamentary discussions and coordinate with teachers, parents and education-related civic groups.“Local education finance is not simply a matter of budgets, but the foundation that underpins our children’s right to education and the future of education,” the council said.“The more the government pushes ahead with the overhaul without sufficient consultation with those on the ground in education, the stronger the joint response from the 16 regional education offices will become.”