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A primary school teacher has been left traumatised after a teenager broke into her school through a hole in a fence in broad daylight and punched her in the face.
Glenbrae Primary School in Glen Innes, where the assault happened, said it had been asking the Ministry of
Education for the last year to pay for a more secure fence around the school grounds.
But they are refusing to cough up the $100,000 or so needed, saying it is up to the school to pay for it.
Glenbrae Primary School principal Sandra Jenkins, who is moving to Freemans Bay School next term, told the Herald the school didn't have that kind of money.
"We don't have that sort of money ... we are a Decile 1 school with a roll of 140. They told us we had to meet the cost out of the 10-year property plan ... but that would be the money for the whole plan," she said.
"How much [harm] has to be done to teachers working on site before the Ministry of Education will take the security of teachers seriously?"
She said the school's property consultant would be contacting the ministry again over the fencing issue, following the assault which happened on Friday just after 3pm. The alleged offender fled after another teacher came to the woman's aid.
She said the school had tried to mend the holes in the fence in the past, but the fence kept getting vandalised.
"It's about teachers being able to be safe in their own workplace."
The teacher is recovering at her parents' home but is having flashbacks and trouble sleeping.
She said the assault brought to mind the case of Tokoroa teacher Lois Dear who was murdered in her classroom last year.
A Ministry of Education spokesman said yesterday the school was provided funding by the ministry and it was up to them to prioritise their spending.
It would be unusual to hand more money to schools, he said.
"The ministry will always work with schools to try and find ways of prioritising the funding they get to meet their needs, whether they are long-term or quite urgent."
Government grants, including teachers' salaries and operations funding, totalled $3.9 billion last year.
However, principals told the Herald this month that schools had to use a range of methods to supplement public money and provide extra resources.
Last year parents paid $235.5 million to primary and secondary schools through fees and fundraising - up from $181.8 million the year before.
Senior Sergeant Graeme Porter said a 17-year-old male was charged with assault and burglary. He was released from Auckland Central Police Station on strict bail conditions and is due to appear in Auckland District Court this week.