Educators frustrated over charter school announcement

Educators frustrated over cynical charter school announcement

20 May 2016

Educators are frustrated by the announcement of more money to open around seven new charter schools and $500,000 to establish an entity to support and promote the charter model.

NZEI Te Riu Roa National Secretary Paul Goulter said the move was cynical and ironic, as it was announced on the same day that an advisory group met for the first time to discuss the government’s funding review of the education system.

“Education sector leaders are being asked to come together to find an equitable way to stretch current funding to our schools and early childhood centres, but meanwhile the government can throw millions of dollars at the private sector to compete with our existing schools,” he said.

“It costs a fortune to set up a new school, and these schools are small and funded for a guaranteed minimum roll that the schools usually don’t come close to reaching. Public schools don’t receive that overfunding luxury,” said Mr Goulter.

He said charter schools were being promoted as offering choice, “but parents aren’t crying out for charter schools. What they want is more money in their local schools, supporting kids where they already are.”

Mr Goulter said it was also discouraging to see the government putting $500,000 into setting up an entity to support and promote the charter school model.

“Public school principals would love to show this government what they could do for their students with the millions of dollars that is being poured into this ideological experiment,” he said.

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