School tells mum: Use your home to pay

BY NATHAN BEAUMONT

A mother is locked in a battle with her son's school after it suggested she secure thousands of dollars in unpaid "voluntary" fees against the future sale of her home.

Karen Bock refuses to pay the $1000-a-term donation at the state integrated Rathkeale College in Masterton and is upset at the school's "aggressive" attitude toward the $13,000 sum said to be owed.

Ms Bock pays about $2000 a year in compulsory fees, but said she could not afford the donation. "I am a single mother and only have a certain income. The school's whole approach has been one of intimidation and aggression."

She said the battle started in April last year when she was contacted by the school's accountant and asked about the donation. She told the accountant the money would not be paid and was then "harassed" for weeks.

In a letter to Ms Bock after a face-to-face meeting, Trinity Schools Trust Board, which owns the school, suggested she secure the unpaid donation against the future sale of her home.

Chairman John Greenwood said given that she had indicated she was not in a position to pay the donation, "a possible way forward ... is that the school secures a mortgage charge against your property pending its sale on terms to be mutually agreed between you and Rathkeale College.

"If we can agree on the above, I would propose to Rathkeale College that no interest be charged, provided there is an ongoing commitment to market the property for sale."

Ms Bock said she felt "dirty" on hearing the suggestion and had no intention of agreeing to it. "I was gutted. I didn't think it would get to this. If I had the money, I would just give it to them, but I don't."

Mr Greenwood admitted the situation could have been handled better. "I'm not sure who raised the idea, it may have been me.

"Look, we could have done things better and equally we could have got better co-operation. It has got too emotional for everyone concerned."

Principal William Kersten said the school acknowledged the payment was a donation, but Ms Bock was "morally wrong" given she was happy to pay $3200 for her son's geography trip to Australia.

"A number of families are not able to have their child participate in the [Australia] trip because they can't afford it, yet they pay the school donation."

Ms Bock said her parents paid for the trip.

The school originally withdrew Ms Bock's son from the trip, but eventually relented.

In another letter, Mr Kersten said such trips were a "privilege" and upheld the school's "special" character.

"I believe you do owe us an explanation in view of the fact other families are paying for many of the provisions your son has access to at Rathkeale which are not available in the state system. I refer particularly to the student-teacher ratio Rathkeale is able to offer and the recent classroom upgrades that were not funded by the [education] ministry."

Education Minister Anne Tolley declined to comment, but in a speech last month warned integrated schools that demanding large voluntary donations was not acceptable. "Voluntary donations are just that, voluntary. If unreasonable demands are being placed on parents, they must stop."

Most integrated schools were established as private schools, then integrated into the state system.

They have a "special character", based on a religion or educational philosophy.

NO RIGHT

Schools have no right to put any pressure on parents to pay voluntary donations, say organisations representing both boards of trustees and integrated schools.

Vaughan Darby, of the Association of Integrated Schools (AIS), would not comment on the Rathkeale case specifically, but said that in general terms donations were not enforceable.

"Donations are exactly that – donations," he said.

"We do not support any school which puts pressure on parents to collect money that they are legally not required to pay."

These sentiments were echoed by Ray Newport, general manager of the School Trustees' Association.

"Donations are voluntary – they are not a fee and can't be enforced," he said.

Mr Newport said Rathkeale's actions in suggesting that she pay the fees from the future sale of her home were unusual.

"I've certainly not heard of that sort of approach before."

The protocol for non-payment of donations varied from school to school, he said.

Some schools left the matter, some reissued invoices showing the amount owing, and some sent letters home offering a "drip-feed" option during the year.

Mr Newport said schools provided the Ministry of Education with figures showing the total amount taken in voluntary fees but there was no breakdown showing the level of partial-payment or non-payment among parents.

Mr Darby said integrated schools got funding from the Government for operational costs on the same basis as state schools.

The compulsory fee charged of roughly $2000 a year covered the cost of maintaining buildings owned by the school, rather than the government.

Voluntary donations provided a "top-up" for operational expenditure, just as they did at state schools.

 

COST OF GIVING

* By law, every New Zealand child has the right to a free education from age 5 to 19.

* But schools say they cannot survive on government funding and ask parents for an annual donation on top of compulsory fees for everything from art and cooking supplies, homework books, school camps, sports gear and photocopying.

* Many schools in more affluent areas say they have to raise more than half their income from fees, international students and donations.

* Schools are often censured by the Education Review Office if cash requests to parents are not clearly couched as "voluntary".

* In the past, some schools have brought in debt collectors in a bid to recoup "voluntary" fees.

- with NZPA

- © Fairfax NZ News