Take fee complaints to schools parents told

The Government is advising angry parents who are charged too much in voluntary school fees to complain to principals and school boards.

But principals say the Government should admit that schools are underfunded and that the free education system is only subsidised.

Education Minister Chris Carter said schools could raise funds for "extras", such as sports trips or camps, but were adequately covered for core activities such as delivering the curriculum.

"If any parent has concerns about the level of donation they are asked to make, I would advise them to approach a member of the board of trustees or the principal."

Asked what an appropriate parental donation was, a spokesman said it was up to schools to set fees. Rates would depend on school projects and "what parents think is a fair contribution".

Mr Carter's comments have sparked fears that more parents will refuse to pay fees this year, undermining schools' financial viability.

Though state school funding rose to $5.6 billion last year, schools raised more than $500 million from community sources to stay afloat.

Tawa mother Marie Prescott, who for nearly a decade has footed the bill for her nine children's state schooling on a sole income, said education came at a cost.

Mrs Prescott had paid thousands of dollars in "voluntary" fees, for text books, uniforms, sports fees, school trips, magazines, Parent Teacher Association contributions and stationery expenses.

"I don't think I want to think about it," she said.

Mr Carter's insistence of a free education system was not correct.

"There's things we'd love to have in our school which we just can't afford, and we're trying to give students the best possible education," she said.

Wellington College headmaster Roger Moses said Mr Carter was putting out "subliminal messages" to convince parents they did not have to contribute to their child's education costs.

"My point is that is a fiction."

Burgeoning computer costs were not properly resourced.

Nor were other basic expenses, such as maintenance, library books and sports equipment.

Higher-decile schools - with more pupils from richer families - received less funding than poorer schools, so needed to raise more from their communities.

Decile 10 Wellington College charged $535 a pupil, but only 75 per cent of parents paid.

"I don't think it's useful for the Government to signal that the money we're asking for is over and above what we really need.

"The reality is we are not getting enough to run our schools."

Tawa College principal Murray Lucas said less than 70 per cent of parents paid the school's $230 fee.

Some struggled to afford the combined cost of fees, uniforms and text books.

But parents would be better off complaining about fees to Mr Carter or their local MP.

"They're the ones who can do something about it - we can't."

- © Fairfax NZ News