A lack of raincoats contributed to two children missing 159 days' school, a court has been told.
The Dominion Post today reported Fiona Murray and Grant Thompson each pleaded guilty in Upper Hutt District Court to two charges of not ensuring two of their children attended school.
Theywere fined $400.
The couple's 14-year-old daughter was absent from Upper Hutt College for 90 days, with her non-attendance worst during June, July and August. Murray told the court she did not send her children to school because they had no coats.
The girl's 11-year-old brother missed 69 days' schooling at Trentham School last year.
Judge Tom Broadmore fined Murray and Thompson $100 on each charge, payable to the school boards.
The family had moved to Palmerston North and an Education Ministry spokesman told the newspaper he was not sure whether the two pupils had re-enrolled for the new school term.
