The cost of uniforms alone run into the hundreds of dollars. Photo / Alex Cairns
A review of back-to-school costs for a student starting Year 9 at seven high schools across Tauranga and Rotorua has found families could pay more than $800 a child for essential uniforms, stationery and technology.
A Bay of Plenty mother surprised by the costs of sending her first child to high school is highlighting the situation many families in the region face.
It comes as a charity says it has been “overwhelmed” with requests for help, and data shows hundreds of thousands of dollars in hardship grants help Bay families cover school costs each year.
Principals, the Government and community groups in the region have emphasised the range of support available to help families and schools find solutions and ensure children can access education.
NZME ‘s review of published compulsory uniform, stationery, and technology lists for a student starting Year 9 at the seven high schools counted the costs.
Uniforms could run as high as $500, core stationery between $50 and $80, and technology a minimum of $350 for a Chromebook laptop recommended by most schools.
A set of compulsory summer uniform items — including two tops, one skirt or shorts, PE gear, shoes, socks and a hat — were between $300 and $500 depending on the school.
Jo Delicata, who works for NZME — publisher of the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post — has a child starting Year 9 this term and outlined how much compulsory items were costing.
“I’m spending $86 on stationery, not including a Chromebook they also require, $368 on uniform including PE uniform and Roman sandals but not including socks/stockings/winter shoes.
“Hopefully the Chromebook from intermediate [school] is okay for college but if not, this will be another $400,” Delicata said.
Asked if she prepared for the high upfront back-to-school costs, she said “kind of, but not as much as I should have”.
She said the high costs were not just seen when starting high school — intermediate was the same.
“I’m going to have to do it all over again for my son at intermediate as they require Chromebooks that can’t be older than three years old.”
In the March 2024 quarter, the Ministry of Social Development [MSD] granted almost $336,000 in School Education Costs hardship grants — a financial programme provided by the Government allowing eligible people to receive one-off payments covering immediate or essential costs.
These could help buy school uniforms or stationery.
MSD Bay of Plenty regional commissioner Jacob Davies said he encouraged anyone struggling with school costs to get in touch to see what support can be provided.
“The assistance will need to be paid back, and we talk through setting up repayments at a manageable level.”
He said the start of the school year brought an increase in applications for assistance.
“The amount granted increases significantly in the March quarter each year.”
In 2024 it made up three-quarters of the total $422,000 given out.
Ōtūmoetai College principal Russell Gordon said the start of the school year could be financially challenging for families.
“Our school offers a range of support options to help families manage these costs. This includes a uniform assistance programme, where families can spread the costs of their uniforms over a period of time. We will also provide uniforms for students in financial hardship.”
He said the school ran a Chromebook loan scheme, ensuring all students had access to the necessary learning devices.
“We will do all that we can to support families and ensure that their children have an equal opportunity to access education.”
He said families should consider “tapping into” community resources and charities that help with school-related costs.
Rotorua Girls High School principal Sarah Davis did not want to see financial pressure stop a student from attending school.
“We are aware that this can be very challenging for families with a number of children, especially starting a new school.
“Every year I think we do better in getting information out to whānau on ways we can support.”
Pāpāmoa College principal Iva Ropati said the school was always open to a discussion and agreeing a plan between the school and parents to ease hardship.
“We encourage parents and students to talk to us if they struggle with any costs. The school happily works with them to ensure every child in the community is not unfairly disadvantaged.”
Sean Teddy, who leads operations and integration at the Ministry of Education, said it was important there were no barriers to accessing education.
“We know many schools are conscious of the costs and actively seek ways to minimise these costs and … support parents.”
He said school boards could set rules around what school equipment, stationery and uniforms were required. The ministry expected schools to consult the parent community when considering requirements.
Shirley McCombe, manager at Bay Financial Mentors, said back-to-school costs were best managed by putting a small amount of money aside each week in preparation for the New Year.
“What is particularly difficult is that, for so many, they are struggling just to meet their day-to-day costs, so putting money aside feels near impossible.
“There are opportunities to purchase second-hand uniforms and some organisations that will help families/whanau’s with the return to school costs,” McCombe said.
Jane Enynon-Richards, manager at Rotorua Citizens Advice Bureau, said finding money for school uniforms and fees was often put off until the last minute.
“It is pretty hard to prepare a budget to cover the costs of children returning to school immediately after Christmas — when that season has also put so much strain on a family’s finances.
“We recommend clients approach the school to check if they have programmes or funds to assist families under financial stress.”
Organisations such as KidsCan, Te Aranui Youth Trust in Tauranga, and Fordlands Community Centre in Rotorua provided support for families struggling with back-to-school costs.
KidsCan chief executive Julie Chapman said the organisation supported 82 schools in the Bay of Plenty.
“We’ve been overwhelmed with schools asking for help to feed and clothe students. We provide good shoes, warm jackets and health products.”
The organisation was running an appeal to get school supplies out to children.
“This support eases the burden on families, freeing up money for stationery and other back-to-school costs.”
Tanya Grimstone, funding and administration manager at Western Bay-based Te Aranui Youth Trust, said uniforms were the “big ticket item”, followed by stationery.
“Where possible we help our clients with what they need to attend school in partnership with the whānau. There are a number of funding and support options available but a lot of these need to be accessed well in advance.
“It is very hard to get funding at short notice for anything including school costs.”
Daniel Haurua, who works in youth development at Fordlands Community Centre, said the community was “definitely in need” of assistance for high school prep.
“We are prepared to work towards solutions instead of being overwhelmed by problems.”
The centre has created a community-focused solution called “Collect for a Kura,” where people were encouraged to get backpacks and fill them with school supplies.
The bags would be given to schools in Rotorua to support rangitahi and tamariki in need of school supplies.
“This is a short-term solution to a long-term problem, but a baby step in the right direction.”
Kaitlyn Morrell is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.
Tere Livingston died in 2023 after receiving two head knocks while playing league.