By STACEY BODGER
Auckland Grammar School has been cautioned by the Education Ministry over a letter to parents requesting a $500 school fee.
The letter was sent out last week to parents of boys offered a third form place at the school next year.
It asked parents to bring a school fee to an enrolment evening "to confirm acceptance of the place offered."
A parent concerned by the letter showed it to Education Minister Trevor Mallard, who yesterday raised the issue in Parliament and said it was totally unacceptable.
Under the Education Act, state schools cannot legally charge compulsory fees.
They may seek a voluntary donation from parents, but cannot imply that the payment is a condition of enrolment.
Mr Mallard released an excerpt from the letter, which said: "It would be appreciated if you could bring the school fee of $500 at this time to confirm acceptance of the place offered.
"If you have any queries regarding this please contact the school accountant."
Mr Mallard said compulsory attendance fees had no place in the state education system and school donations had to be voluntary.
The ministry's national operations manager, Ray Webb, wrote to Auckland Grammar on Tuesday, seeking an assurance that students' enrolment was not conditional upon a $500 payment.
Mr Webb said the letter seemed to infer that entitlement to enrol at Auckland Grammar would not be confirmed until the payment had been made.
But principal John Morris said the $500 fee was voluntary and that students would not be refused enrolment at the school if their parents could not afford, or did not want to make, the payment.
The same letter had been sent to parents for six years and 99 per cent of parents had paid the fee.
"They value the fact their child has been accepted into our school and understand that we want to maintain a certain standard of education," Mr Morris said.
Parents were asked to pay the fee at the enrolment evening simply for "ease of accounting."
Mr Morris said donations from parents were increasingly necessary as ministry funding declined.
Other schools spoken to last night, including Howick and Mangere colleges, also ask for donations or "activity fees."
They said they made it clear that payments were voluntary and they received only about a 50 per cent response.
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