9 November 2016
Charter School Abolition Bill too inflexible - Dunne

UnitedFuture leader, Hon Peter Dunne, says UnitedFuture will not be supporting the Education (Charter Schools Abolition) Amendment Bill.

“UnitedFuture remains opposed to charter schools as we do not believe that they are going to be a long term positive addition to the New Zealand public school system and I remain of the view that they have the ability to undermine the education system if the programmes are extended,” says Mr Dunne.

“That is why I voted against setting up charter schools, and will continue to vote against any expansion.

“However, this Bill raises some alarming propositions that go far beyond the issue of charter schools.

“The Bill voids the contracts that created the current partnership schools, but it does so in a way that would leave the students and parents of those students in the lurch.

“I am not convinced that the transitional arrangements in this Bill make the process for re-enrolment easy for these students.

“Moreover, I am extremely concerned at the provisions in this Bill that remove any rights to redress for the voiding of the contract

“Disagreeing with the establishing of a charter school is one issue, but removing the rights for the staff, board, teachers, parents and students to seek redress for any harm or damage caused the legislation undermines even more basic principles of equity.

“UnitedFuture’s position is clear: we would support Bill that placed limits on establishing more charter schools; we would vote for a Bill that set a time limit on the charter school experiment, we would vote for a Bill that brought charter schools more into line with the public system and we would vote for a range of provisions to empower the public school system to be more responsive to the needs of students.

“This Bill does none of those things, it is too inflexible, which is why UnitedFuture has opposed it”, Mr Dunne said

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