Mixed outcomes for Rotorua school decile challenges

REVIEWED: Rotorua Seventh Day Adventist School principal Lanea Strickland appealed the school's decile rating. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER

Rotorua schools challenging their new decile ratings have been informed by the Ministry of Education as to whether their applications were successful - and the results are mixed.

Four Rotorua schools were among the 160 schools nationwide to challenge their new ratings, which were reviewed in November last year.

Eight hundred schools across New Zealand were moved to a lower decile rating in November, 784 schools moved to a higher decile rating, and 822 schools' decile ratings did not change.

Earlier this year St Michael's Catholic Primary School, St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Kaharoa Primary School and Rotorua Seventh Day Adventist School applied to have their increased decile ratings reviewed.

The higher a school's rating, the less funding they receive from the Ministry.

Seventh Day Adventist School had its decile increased from a three to a six last year but it was brought back down on appeal to a decile four.

Principal Lanea Strickland said she was pleased with the outcome as it was a "true reflection of the school community".

"Having the decile go down has been a relief and taken the pressure off our finances.

"We will be getting a back pay and while our decile did not go down to what it originally was, we are happy with the outcome."

St Mary's Catholic Primary School also had its ratings lowered following the appeal.

However, not all schools were successful. St Michael's Catholic Primary School and Kaharoa Primary School retained their new deciles of four and 10.

St Michael's principal Shelly Fitness said they had hoped their decile would be changed during the review.

"We were disappointed when we found out our application had been unsuccessful. We have to get more creative with our budgeting as the new decile will mean we get $15,000 less in funding.

"It is what it is and we are lucky our school community is so understanding and that we get additional funding from Ngati Whakaue which doesn't happen in many other districts."

Kaharoa Primary School principal Warwick Moyle has written to the local Ministry of Education office requesting more information about how the review process was carried out.

"I've never felt like we were a decile 10 so I'm just looking for further clarification around how they conducted the review.

"We have been running a deficit for three years now and will need to look at ways to cover that $6000 we've lost."