School may save on support staff

Schools could cut support staff next year as a way to make savings in order to meet their funding budgets after a Government decision to freeze funding earlier this year.

A survey released by the primary and secondary teachers’ unions, NZEI and PPTA, found over a third of 307 principals surveyed on ways to make savings in 2017 were considering reducing support staff hours and a quarter could go as far as cutting positions.

The first to feel the pinch will be special needs students, according to NZEI board member and Wellington’s Berhampore Primary School principal Mark Potter.

‘‘We have to make our funding go a lot further than other schools because of the high number of special needs students we have.’’

Currently about 15 per cent of Berhampore’s students are classed as special needs.

There is a growing demand for places at the school for children with special needs and in the last year the school increased its support staff numbers from 11 to 14.

This could be set to change and cuts to staffing were likely.

The school already had to divert $30,000 from other areas of their budget to fund additional support staff and teaching time.

‘‘Any freeze or erosion means there’s more impact on what we can offer the children,’’ Potter said.

Changes in the operations grant, which provides for schoolrelated costs including property maintenance, learning materials, technology and support staff wages, came into effect in September.

Overall funding increased by one per cent, and the additional $12.3 million was targeted towards at-risk children.

PPTA president Angela Roberts said the move equated to ‘‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’’ as the Ministry was able to claim funding had increased, while leaving the majority of schools in a poorer financial position as funding failed to keep pace with rising costs.

Education Minister Hekia Parata said all but 15 schools would receive a cut of the additional $12.3 million.

‘‘We are also undertaking a comprehensive update of the learning support system.

‘‘As part of this, we want to make sure that the over-$590 million investment in learning support is being spent in the most effective and impactful way possible so that kids get the best chance to achieve.’’

In Budget 2016, funding for students needing learning support increased by $42.1 million over the next four years, Parata said.

‘‘This includes an additional $15.3 million for in-class teacher aide hours.’’

The situation may become more dire, according to principal Mark Potter, with the Ministry considering ring-fencing school maintenance funding, which he said was the largest pool to draw on to combat deficits.

Currently the building maintenance fund equated to roughly a quarter of Berhampore’s funding and Potter said ring-fencing would likely mean the loss of at least three support staff next year and fewer interactive teaching tools to supplement learning.

‘‘It becomes a fine line you’re walking - maintaining your buildings but also providing the education you are required to provide for children.’’

Parata said the funding review would look at how the cost of children’s learning and the cost of property maintenance could be better separated.

‘‘In the past, some schools have used their building maintenance funding for other purposes.

‘‘This muddles the costs schools incur for their children’s learning with the costs of maintaining their buildings,’’ she said.

The survey, which included responses from 307 school across New Zealand, also found 16 per cent of schools were considering deferring property maintenance to offset costs, 13 per cent relied on increased parental donations, and one in five were considering changing curriculum provisions.

One third of schools said they were not considering any changes to make up for the diverted fundings.

Teacher salaries came from a separate pool. - Fairfax NZ