Bulk funding through the back door

Hon. Trevor Mallard | Wednesday, May 26, 2010 17:49

New Zealanders continue to reject the idea of bulk funding our schools, says Labour’s spokesperson for Education Trevor Mallard.

“We all remember the education debate of the 1990s – bulk funding,” said Trevor Mallard.

“We also remember the solemn promise of Anne Tolley before the election not to go there again. Well she has.

“In the Budget detail Labour has discovered that schools are allowed to drop their staffing 10% below the staffing schedule minima and cash up the difference.

“They are also allowed to cash up their property money instead of doing the capital works that the money is allocated for.

“I don’t think that funding to either area is so generous that it is appropriate to divert it.

“It isn’t just the thin end of the wedge – it is all the change the bulk funders want except the right to reduce teachers’ pay,” said Trevor Mallard.

ENDS

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