Completion of operational funding review

Completion of operational funding review tops agenda

New Zealand School Trustees Association is calling for an urgent completion of the schools’ operational funding review.

NZSTA president Lorraine Kerr says the need for the review to be completed is expected to be a topic covered at this weekend’s NZSTA National Board and National Council meetings.

“One of the top priorities for 2007 is for the schools’operational funding review to be completed. As a result we will see the results reflected in a fair funding regime that allows our boards of trustees to run schools of the 21st century.”

Lorraine Kerr says the review group’s December report clearly indicates an inadequacy in the current levels of operational grant funding. It also outlines an increasing dependence on the use of locally raised monies to keep schools afloat.

“The review group’s findings are not surprising, as independent research commissioned by NZSTA has previously identified these issues. The other issue is that there hasn’t been a full review of the costs of running a school since the cobbling together of the original operational grant in 1989.”

She says due to a lack of a review parents have increasingly carried a chunk of costs which have arisen from increased complexity, ICT costs and additional support staff in schools. There has also been increased expectation from the community around what the school should deliver.

“What we now need to get sorted, as a matter of priority for 2007, is a better understanding of what it does actually cost to run a 21st century school. We are heartened that the Minister has given the go-ahead to the Ministry of Education for this work to be undertaken.”

Lorraine Kerr says NZSTA member boards and school principals have been incredibly patient while this review has unfolded.

“We commend the schools for their patience, however we are aware that this patience is wearing thin. The remaining work needs to be completed as a matter of urgency, so that a far more equitable balance can be established between operational grant funding provided by Government, and what the community may be prepared to pay for “added extras,” she says.

ENDS

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