Donations scheme slammed

Schools excluded from the Government’s Donations Scheme say the scheme is confusing and unfairly disadvantages some lowincome families.

The comments come on the eve of a deadline for decile 1 to 7 schools to decide whether to opt into the scheme, which replaces blanket voluntary donations from parents, with a $150 per student annual payment from the Government.

About half of the more than 40 schools in Nelson and Tasman replied to a Stuff survey asking whether they had signed up to the scheme ahead of tomorrow’s deadline.

All eligible schools that replied said they had opted in, apart from Nelson College for Girls, which would vote on the ‘‘complex decision’’ tonight.

All but two schools said they stood to receive more money than under the current system, or about the same.

Some decile 8 to 10 schools said they would have also been significantly better off financially, had they been allowed to opt in.

Clifton Terrace School, a decile 9 Nelson primary school, stood to receive $45,000 a year compared to the $8000 it received in parental donations, principal Rob Wemyss said.

The amount donated had been dropping year on year, Wemyss said.

‘‘In my community out here, people aren’t flush with money.’’

Being part of the scheme would have helped greatly, as the school struggled to fund support staff, he said.

Another high-decile school estimated it would have been $60,000 a year better off under the scheme. Its principal said many parents now thought donations weren’t needed any more, and it was feared that voluntary donations would drop even further.

‘‘It’s created a lot of confusion among parents’’ said the principal, who did not want to be named.

Just under 20 schools in the region are rated decile 8 to 10, including the largest school in the top of the South Island, Richmond’s Waimea College.

Nelson MP Nick Smith said it was unfair to put some schools and parents at a disadvantage because of ‘‘an arbitrary difference in decile rating’’.

‘‘It means over 1000 families from Waimea College are going to be disadvantaged.’’

There was confusion around what what activities schools could reasonably charge for, Smith said.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins was unavailable for comment. A spokesperson said work was under way with sector experts to develop an equity index that would replace the decile system.

Eligible schools that chose not to opt this year can join in future.