A Budget comment

Last month’s Budget announcements are adding a fiscal blowtorch to state secondary schools in the greater Waikato region.

Spokesperson for the Central North Island Secondary Principals Association (CNISPA) Clive Hamill commented that over half of the principals at a recent regional meeting were planning for budget deficits for this year and the Budget announcement of an additional four per cent in resourcing for 2011 gave them little comfort.

Mr Hamill said that with the OECD predicting an inflation rate for NZ this year of 2.2 per cent, before the 2.5 per cent increase of GST in October, and a number of other “cost savings” announced, the liquidity of some of our secondary schools is at risk.

He noted that NZ was already in the bottom 20 per cent of OECD countries for spending on secondary schools and he said that it looked like NZ would remain in the company of other low resourced countries like Chile, Greece, and Latvia for some time to come.

Mr Hamill was particularly concerned that the budget foreshadowed some additional changes which make it even more difficult for schools to plan with fiscal prudence.

The change to quarterly calculations for operational grant payments, which are roll based, will result in state secondary schools receiving less money as senior students leave during the year. This strategy penalises schools who work with senior students to find tertiary and employment opportunities throughout the year.

The minister’s comment that it would encourage secondary schools to engage and retain students, is a slap in the face of the teachers and boards of trustees which are striving to support senior students’ best interests. The increasing national retention and achievement rates support this fact.

Mr Hamill gave the example of his own school, Melville High, whose roll decreased over eight per cent between the first and the last quarter in 2009. Historically secondary funding was fixed at a rate for the year and though inadequate, was able to be budgeted for he said.

Of further concern to Mr Hamill was the fixing of the funding for fuel, light and power for 2010 and 2011 at 2009 levels. Melville High School had already included in the school budget for this year the anticipated increase in power charges which historically had been reimbursed by the MoE.

Mr Hamill noted that for King Country secondary schools, the situation was much worse. They have already had two power increases totalling 10 per cent since October last year and these increases were not addressed in the budget announcement.

“We can only imagine what will happen when New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) impacts on power prices in the second half of this year?” he continued.

“We as principals are also frustrated by the impact of the changed policies. On the one hand ministry is requiring schools to give consideration to implementing the Modern Learning Environment Guidelines for buildings. This has encouraged schools to install air conditioning so that schools can maintain “classroom temperatures between 18 and 20°C” as well as maintaining recommended ventilation rates. On the other hand, the ministry is requiring a reduction in the expenditure on energy.

“At the same time that we are having to further tighten our belts, the government is pledging an extra $1.7 million towards scholarships to help students attend private schools and outlining plans to invest $2.5 million in investigating public/private partnerships. This is causing great angst among my colleagues.”

Mr Hamill said that for several schools, the increased fiscal pressures that school families were under was also restricting what secondary schools were able to provide.
Several principals noted that the payment for course fees was slow, bad debts were increasing and getting money for school activities and sports was much more difficult.
“All this adds up to the prospect of having a 21st Curriculum, which is the envy of the world, and no resources to implement it,” Mr Hamill concluded.