Media Release
January 30, 2002
Don’t Throw Out School-Funding Baby
With Bathwater, Bill
NZ First’s Education spokesperson, Brian Donnelly, is urging Bill English to get some decent advice before throwing out
the decile funding system for schools.
‘The current distortions have been caused by the Minister of Education, Trevor Mallard. He ill-advisedly distributed the
surplus money from the abolition of bulk-funding of teacher salaries using the existing decile-funding formula. That’s
what has created the perception of schools awash with cash,” says Mr Donnelly.
‘It is ridiculous for Bill English to be planning to can a fundamentally sound policy introduced by National because
Labour has stuffed it up’.
‘Decile funding needs recalculation of the amounts of each decile, rather than being rubbished. I offer to brief Mr
English because it is obvious his own policy advisors and caucus members don’t understand the issues,’ said Mr Donnelly.
ENDS