1 July 2015

Cash for charter schools, mould for state schools

At a time when state schools are struggling in old, cold, mouldy buildings and can barely make ends meet, the National Government is shovelling cash at charter schools which aren’t even spending the funding on kids’ education, Labour’s Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins says.

“Recently released financial statements show the Whangarei charter school He Puna Marama received $3.9 million in government funding to the end of last year. Yet their audited accounts show they only spent $1.4 million on education, leaving almost $2.5 million over two years unaccounted for.

“The statements also show the charter school spent $149,668 in 2014 on ‘curriculum delivery’ but almost $90,000 more ($238,381) on ‘finance and administration’.

“Hekia Parata has said she is satisfied all the contract funding for charter schools is being spent on delivering educational achievement.

“However, it appears He Puna Marama is racking up huge profits thanks to her largesse.

“The Government should be doing all it can to ensure every dollar schools receive goes towards educating kids.

“State schools would never get away with hoarding money at kids expense, why should charter schools be held to a different standard?”

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