Rule ‘penalises’ school

A ‘‘foolish’’ Government move is penalising the largest school in the top of the South Island and its poorest families.

Waimea College’s Board of Trustees is calling on the Government to reverse its decision to exclude high decile schools from an incentive to stop educators requesting parental donations.

The board has launched a petition against the decision, announced in the 2019 Budget, to only include decile one to seven schools in an offer of $150 per student per year for schools which agreed to stop requesting parental donations.

The chairman of the board, Nathan Davis, said it was grossly unfair that the decile eight school in Richmond had to ask parents for donations, while Nelson’s three other state secondary schools could access the Government funding.

‘‘Locally, all of the schools seek relatively the same donations from almost completely the same communities, and Waimea College has, because of an arbitrary rule line, been excluded from that,’’ Davis said.

Nayland College, Nelson College and Nelson College for Girls were eligible, as decile six and seven schools, to opt into the funding. Nelson College for Girls’ Board had not yet decided whether to take up the scheme, as there was ‘‘a lack of clarity about some aspects’’ of it, principal Cathy Ewing said.

Not being able to access the funding put Waimea College at a disadvantage, Davis said.

While the school asked for donations of $170 per student from its 1550 domestic students,

‘‘Waimea College has, because of an arbitrary rule line, been excluded.’’

Board of trustees chairman Nathan Davis

only about 60 per cent of families paid a donation, and not always the full amount, he said.

The decile system was a ‘‘complete misnomer’’ that higher decile schools were wealthier schools.

‘‘We’ve got families that are right across the entire range of financial circumstances, and it’s really foolish of the Government to say, at the broad brush of a decile-based funding, it is reasonable or fair.

‘‘We’re asking the poorest of our families for that same $170, and yet the richest of the other families of Nelson College, Nelson College for Girls and Nayland College are not being asked, despite them probably being in the financial position to pay it,’’ he said.

The move went against the Government’s original promise that all schools would receive $150 per student, Davis said.

On Budget day, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said it was ‘‘unlikely’’ high decile schools would want to opt into the the four year $265.6 million plan, with many 8-10 decile schools receiving well over $150 per student.

Responding to the Waimea College complaints, Hipkins said work was under way with sector experts to develop an equity index that would replace the decile system, with a view to it being tested and available to be implemented from 2021 or 2022.

Davis said that didn’t adequately deal to the ‘‘inequality’’, which should be reversed immediately to allow Waimea College to opt into the funding next year.

The School Donations Amendment Bill has been through its first reading in Parliament, with a select committee report due out next month.