Attracting staff is more difficult
"All children need to have the social, sporting and cultural opportunities as well as a good standard of education." Shelley Dew-hopkins
The lack of any increase in the school boarding allowance will slow the economic development of rural regions says a Manawatu farmer.
‘‘It is a hindrance to the strong economic growth in the Horizons region that we are on the cusp of,’’ said Rangiwahia farmer Shelley Dew-hopkins.
She said the issue made it more difficult to attract staff.
Children in areas which don’t have a school, or transport to get them to one, can get $3200 a year towards boarding costs. But a state boarding can cost $8000 to $15,000 a year so an increase is long overdue, Federated Farmers says.
Dew-hopkins said rural communities needed to attract and maintain well qualified staff and their families. ‘‘Everyone wants and deserves the best for their children, and the cost of living for farmers and fixed income staff in hill country is increasingly costly.
‘‘All children need to have the social, sporting and cultural opportunities as well as a good standard of education in order to be well prepared for the New Zealand of the future. For some, that will mean boarding school, and this assistance will definitely make it easier to stay living in remote rural communities with a family.’’
Fairness was also involved. ‘‘It is an inequitable and unfair situation and should be changed before the election.’’
Federated Farmers national president Katie Milne said it was a ‘‘glaring omission’’ that no party had an increase in the school boarding allowance in their education policy.
She said the ‘Access Barrier’ boarding allowance had not increased for more than 10 years.
‘‘It’s not uncommon for boarding costs for state and stateintegrated high schools to be $8000-$10,000, and sometimes as high as $15,000 a year.’’
Milne said for a farm manager with three kids, boarding school costs could be half of their takehome pay.
‘‘Parents in remote areas have to make tough choices between hours of their children’s week being swallowed by travel, or forking out for boarding fees.’’
‘‘We’d like all political parties to address this key issue for rural New Zealand and commit to increasing the access barrier boarding allowance as a priority.’’