Treasury officials disagreed with a decision to target schools' operational funding to at-risk students, an initiative eventually announced by education minister Hekia Parata.
Budget 2016 documents released this afternoon show officials warned that the decision may appear like the Government was pre-empting the outcome of its school funding review - an initiative currently underway with heavy involvement from the education sector.
Advice to Finance Minister Bill English in early 2016 said Treasury would not recommend targeting the operational grant to children with long-term beneficiary parents until progress on the review had been made.
"A key judgement is whether agreeing this change would be interpreted by the sector as the Government pre-empting the outcome of the review, or just signalling its commitment to change," it said.
The policy will give schools $12 million per year for about 150,000 at-risk students, defined as those from long-term welfare-dependent families.