Crisis in school funding
Thursday 3 Mar 2005
Deborah Coddington - Press Releases - Education
Associate Education Minister David Benson-Pope is just plain wrong when he argues that schools have enough money
because they manage to balance their books, ACT Education spokesman Deborah Coddington said today.
"My office is flooded with letters and emails from principals and school trustees who have painstakingly collected
research to show that the Labour Government is not honouring its commitment to fund state schools," Miss Coddington
said.
"The Minister saying schools are doing okay because they manage to balance their books is like saying a starving man's
not hungry because he manages to stay alive. When you're struggling to stay alive you behave frugally and cut out many
of life's necessities.
"I have proof that the basic funding of many schools has dropped by around 14 percent from 1989 to 2002 and nearly 15
percent by 2003.
"The Government might protest that funding has increased, but this money is earmarked for special groups of students or
for specific purposes and must be spent as such.
"Meanwhile schools are increasingly trying to rely on fundraising just to make ends meet. Low decile schools are
especially in trouble because they simply can't go to the parents, many of whom barely have enough money to feed their
children, for donations.
"As part of our Mothers on the Road campaign I am visiting some of these schools and hearing first hand how schools are
struggling to educate our children - and all the while this Government sits on a big fat $7 billion surplus.
"If Labour is going to tax people into oblivion, then refuse to spend it on essentials like education, then they should
just let New Zealanders keep the money in the first place so they can spend it on the education of their choice for
their children," Miss Coddington said.
ENDS