'20 free lie' jeopardises Kindergarten trust money

'20 free lie' jeopardises Auckland Kindergarten trust money

The Government's '20 free lie' is seriously jeopardising the $1.1 million a year Auckland Kindergartens receive from charitable trusts, says the Auckland Kindergarten Association (AKA).

AKA General Manager Tanya Harvey said trusts were either opting out or threatening to opt out of funding Auckland Kindergartens because they believed the Minister of Education when he said that '20 free' meant free.

'The trusts believe the Government, and are saying that if Kindy care is going to be free then they won't need to be supporting us any more,' Ms Harvey said.

But, said Ms Harvey, 20 free didn't actually mean free, it didn't cover all costs, and Kindergartens needed the charitable trusts as much as ever.

'Trust money maintains our buildings, builds our playgrounds, and buys computers for kids and educational toys,' she said.

'It is 12% of our total annual budget after salaries, and absolutely essential to what we do.'

Ms Harvey said the Government's dishonesty was 'jeopardising the quality of Kindergarten care for thousands of Auckland children' and it was time for the Minister of Education to 'fess up and admit that 20 free is not free, but a subsidy'.

If he did this it would send a clear signal to charitable trusts that the Auckland Kindergartens still needed them, and it would prevent the loss of millions of dollars of traditional Kindergarten funding.

The problem was 'serious and immediate', Ms Harvey said.

Money that used to belong to Kindergartens was already being promised to sports clubs and other community organizations. More than half a million dollars of Auckland Kindergarten trust funding was in 'imminent peril' and a further half a million 'seriously at risk over the next year or two'.

Prior to the last election Labour promised 20 free hours a week of early childhood education to 'every single child'. Its Manifesto promised to 'provide funding for 20 hours free early childhood education for three and four year olds attending any licensed, teacher-led service from July 2007'.

ENDS

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