Between Wednesday and Friday, Kate Gainsford visited a variety of schools in and around Dunedin, including Bayfield, Columba, Tokomairiro and South Otago.
Speaking to staff was the purpose of her trip, and most of the feedback she received was about the recent Budget.
She described it as "short on detail", which increased anxiety in the teaching profession; and she believed more "transparency" was required.
"It's not a good idea to keep people in the dark," she said.
Concerns were about the prospect of funding and staffing cuts.
About 700 job losses were expected across the country, "which is big", Ms Gainsford said.
This would require an increase in the number of pupils in classrooms, which would have a negative impact; or cuts to the curriculum, which would mean limiting pupils' choices.
Despite asking questions about the issue, she had been told it was "under consideration", and had received no response to her concerns.
A proposed funding cut to the "equity of access", which allowed schools in remote areas to acquire technology such as video conferencing to link them with other centres, was a big concern for areas such as Otago, she said.
Schools in the Otago region were at the "forefront of IT", and rural students would lose out if money was cut from the area, she said.
"We can't afford not to invest in that infrastructure."
If money was lost in that area the infrastructure would collapse before more funding could be secured, she said.
As the PPTA president, her role was to advocate for teachers and students, and she believed the "highly skilled dedicated workforce" in education should not be used as a "political football".
However, her visit to Dunedin did have some positive aspects, as she was able to see the "collaborative ethos" which characterised schools in the area at work.
A culture of working together "was not as apparent in other parts of the country", she said.
As well as the region championing technology, another example was the curriculum support days which resulted in all schools coming together to discuss issues.
"It makes things work a lot more easily," Ms Gainsford said.
