The WA Government will redirect $45 million from secondary to primary schools over five-years, as part of funding reforms unveiled this week.

The revelations have been slammed by some schools, and the State School Teachers Union says that some will see budget cuts of a size they cannot manage.

The Government says the new system will spend $1.25 per secondary student for every $1 spent on a primary student.

Under the previous arrangement, $1.38 was spent per secondary student for every primary dollar.

Students from pre-primary to Year Three will now attract funding of $7,572 each, Years Four to Six would see a $6,310 allocation, Year Seven to 10 students $8,392, and schools will see $9,023 for students in years 11 to 12.

A key figure behind the reforms has been Melbourne University education academic Richard Teese, who made several recommendations in his report to the Education Department almost two years ago.

Professor Teese said that while some schools will be hurt by the changes, the over direction will be more beneficial.

“The rebalancing had to occur if we were to get achievement levels early in primary school and sustain them in secondary school,” he told the ABC.

“It would have been preferable to support that effort across the board but the first steps have been taken to get a re-balancing, which is long overdue.”

Professor Teese’s support has been restored, after it looked for a little while like the Government had missed the point of his report, he says.

He now believes that while it is ideal to take funds from schools, the changes are worthwhile.

“It'd be good to try to maintain as far as possible a major funding effort to assist secondary schools but I can understand why the rebalancing has to occur and I can see why those important steps have been taken,” Professor Teese said.

“In a general sense I'm supportive of it because they are going in the directions we recommended in our report.

“Some schools will lose out, in particular those schools that have benefited from the complexity of the previous regime ... but they'll be transitioned so the impact on them will be internationally managed over five years,” he said.