Low-decile schools 'cash rich'

By AUDREY YOUNG

Poorer schools are "awash with cash" under the decile weighting system, says National leader Bill English, strongly suggesting his party would abandon the system it introduced in 1995.

The theory behind the decile-based funding formula was to ensure that schools in poorer communities were not disadvantaged.

It means that children in those schools can be funded at nearly twice the level of students in high-income areas.

Now National has had a change of heart.

"It's not a fair go," Mr English said yesterday. "We don't believe that the differences that are built in are warranted.

"Some of these lower-income schools are awash with cash.

"We don't think that throwing more money at lower-income schools is going to solve this problem of systematic disadvantage that those kids have."

All state schools in the compulsory sector are rated on a socio-economic scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being poorest and 10 wealthiest.

Census information used to calculate the indicator includes parents' income, occupation, household crowding, parents' qualifications, income support received and Maori and Pacific Island ethnicity.

It translates to funding differences which, for example, gave decile 10 Victoria Ave School in Remuera $740 for each student last year, while Mayfield Primary in Otara, a decile 1 school, got about $1440 a student.

The amount at stake in the last financial year was $134 million. It represents 16 per cent of total operational funding.

Once it is allocated to schools, school boards of trustees decide how it should be used.

Mr English said children in safe Labour seats should not have "twice the value" of others.

National would think "laterally" in its reassessment of the funding. It did not yet have detailed policy.

"But if we've got a record of consistent failure, then maybe we should try something different."

He cited the case of three low-decile schools in Porirua which last year used operational money to transport children to and from school in taxis.

"If you're paying for taxis to bring your kids to school so you can compete with another school, that's probably a bit more money than you need."

Education Minister Trevor Mallard said 96 per cent of total funding for state schools (staffing, property and operational) was related to the number of pupils and not socio-economic factors. Only 4 per cent was decile-related.

He said some schools had a majority of pupils who struggled with the language, or had literacy problems or high numbers of transient pupils.

"My view is, if we don't work on these intensively as part of the schooling system, we end up dealing with it as part of the prison problem."

Dropping the system would lead to lower standards in poorer areas.

Mr Mallard said decile funding alone did not affect performance, but research in South Auckland showed that, together with improved professional development and quality assessment, it could make an enormous difference.

"It can get some of the poorest communities right up to national averages.

"It doesn't work on its own. It's how you use it that's important."

Mr Mallard was surprised that a leader who aimed to appeal to middle New Zealand would want a system that would appeal to the rich "at a cost to the rest of New Zealand".