School criticised for making parents pay

A Dunedin school is one of many across the country under fire for allegedly forcing parents to pay voluntary fees and punishing children whose parents do not pay up.

Documents obtained under the Official Information Act have revealed cases brought to the attention of the former education minister Chris Carter last year.

They include complaints of voluntary donations being chased up by school boards using "bullying tactics", optional expenses being deemed "compulsory" and schools breaching the Education Act by singling out pupils whose parents did not pay.

Brockville Primary School in Dunedin was one of the schools brought to the former minister's attention for allegedly forcing parents to pay an up-front consolidated levy rather than on a "user pays" basis.

However, principal Ben Sincock disputed the claim.

He said parents were given the option of paying for school activities throughout the year - either on a trip-by-trip basis, or a term-by-term basis - or in a lump sum payment of $35 at the start of the year.

"We make it well known to parents that school donations are voluntary.

"This complaint was just one parent making a bit of a hoo-ha."

Mr Sincock said the school never let pupils miss out on activities and there was always a way to help families pay the money.

He gave assurances the school had never used any means to force people to pay.

"I'm shocked at the allegation."

Owairoa Primary School in Howick employed an agency to call parents at home and urge them to pay.

The school was referred to the Ministry of Education and got a "blasting" and was told it had no right to be "debt collecting".

But principal Alan McIntyre said he had received external legal advice which proved the school was within its rights.

Parents should feel pressured to pay the school donation as it is an important part of the school budget, he said.

The documents, from February 2007 to October 2008, revealed other schools breaking the rules by sending pupils home for the day; taking money directly out of a parent's account at the school without permission; telling parents the voluntary donations are "compulsory options fees"; and denying pupils access to a course.

Under Section 3 of the Education Act 1989 every New Zealand pupil is entitled to a free education at a state school from their fifth birthday until January 1 following their 19th birthday.

But schools argue they could not function without top-up donations from parents.

School Trustees Association president Lorraine Kerr said government funding was inadequate.

In many cases it was lost on administration, power, water and rates.

Boards often feel "damned if they do, damned if they don't" send out a plea to every parent to contribute to the school's budget by way of the set donation fee.

But the onus was on parents to help their children's school deliver the quality of programmes it aimed to, Ms Kerr said.

Over the past two years, parents had spent a huge amount of time fundraising to top up normal day-to-day programmes, and funds were going to be even more scarce as the credit crunch hits.

"It used to be that parents fundraised for the `nice-to-haves'.

Now they are being asked to fundraise to subsidise what's happening in the classroom," she said.

New Zealand Parent Teacher Association president Amanda Meldon said debate over the discrepancies between schools of different decile ratings was common.

Parents question why a low decile school should be funded to take pupils on trips and a decile 10 pay for it in full when parents could be struggling at either school.

"There are always extra bits to pay for at school such as stationery, trips, camps, visitors.

These can all add up, especially for larger families.

Most parents don't want their children missing out on these events so they pay, even if it means stretching the budget," she said.

 

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