Schools begging for financial help

In a letter sent home earlier this year, Palmerston North Boys’ High School rector David Bovey said his school ‘‘relies on donations to do the job we do’’.

‘‘We could not exist in our current form on the Ministry of Education operation grant. Thus, we really do rely on the goodwill of parents to support what we do.’’ The plea to parents from the decile 8 state school sits at the bottom of an invoice sent home in March.

Included in the breakdown of costs is a PTA donation of $20, an Old Boys’ Association subscription of $20, and a ‘‘general education donation’’ of $330 per pupil.

Documents acquired under the Official Information Act show the ministry has warned PNBHS, among 10 schools, for fudging the fact that some costs are optional.

The school’s changed the way it asks for the money, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to stop asking parents to dig into their pockets.

Bovey said some families struggled to keep up with school costs, but the ‘‘ideal’’ of a free education was no longer realistic.

The perception money from donations was used for ‘‘luxuries’’ or ‘‘put away in a tin for a rainy day’’ was incorrect.

‘‘They’re used to make a school function.’’

Schools across the country say they’re under financial pressure, and while the government has proposed changes to its funding model it won’t necessarily mean more money for schools.

The Palmerston North high school was also caught trying to withhold the school magazine unless the ‘‘voluntary’’ fees were paid – a common policy among high schools.

Emails show the ministry received the parent complaints between January and July.

The schools singled out were Christchurch’s Cobham Intermediate School, Havelock North High School, PNBHS, Queen Elizabeth College in Palmerston North, Wellington’s St Patrick’s College, Tauranga Intermediate, Tauranga Boys’ College, Mount Maunganui College, Palmerston North’s Te Kura Kaupara Maori o Manawatu