Bid to shed 770 teachers axed

BY JOHN HARTEVELT

The Government planned to lay off the equivalent of 772 fulltime teachers, but backed down days before the 1106 affected schools were to be told.

Teachers are still threatening a national revolt over the aborted plan because the Government remains committed to savings of $50 million a year set aside for the cuts.

Education Minister Anne Tolley said last night that she backed out of the plan days before the May 28 Budget announcement when she realised how many jobs would be lost.

"I don't think that I thought they were actual staff. I didn't realise that they were actually all in place," she said. "I still thought that we were talking about it as being in the future."

The Press has obtained documents under the Official Information Act that show the plan was so far advanced that a communication proposal was agreed on.

The proposal mapped out ways to "help minimise concerns" and stop schools from sabotaging the new national standards in protest.

"This reduction is likely to be perceived by the sector and parents as conflicting with the Government's literacy and numeracy objectives," Ministry of Education advice to Tolley said.

"In addition to potentially sending a negative message to the sector, reducing staffing may make the sector less willing to implement Government priorities, in particular the national standards."

Teacher unions and the principal and employer associations were likely to campaign against the change, the advice to Tolley said.

The Government plan involved a reversal of lower teacher-pupil ratios for new-entrant classes. The 1:15 ratio started this year would be scrapped and returned to the previous 1:18. Tolley approved the plan, which noted that 772 fulltime equivalent teaching positions would be cut on May 3.

She agreed to forward the report to Prime Minister John Key and Finance Minister Bill English.

Another document said the Cabinet had agreed to the change.

"The changed ratio will be announced as part of Budget 2009," it said.

Schools would be sent a letter on Budget day advising them of the cuts.

More than 200 primary schools would lose at least one teacher and a further 900 (49 per cent) would lose a part-time teacher or have to make a fulltime teacher work part-time.

On May 15, eight working days before the Budget announcement, Tolley, Key and English agreed to abandon the plan.

"I thought there would have been some [redundancies] but I didn't think they were all actually on the ground and in place," Tolley said last night.

"The minute I realised that we were actually talking about people on the ground, I immediately sought advice and talked to both the minister of finance and the Prime Minister.

"None of us would countenance that."

Tolley said English and Key agreed the policy could not go ahead.

"I take full responsibility. It was my error and it was my decision, but we never went into that with the idea of making people redundant."

She "had no option but to leave the savings in".

The Government would somehow have to account for the savings in next year's Budget, she said.

Asked if she could guarantee 770 teachers would not lose their jobs, Tolley said: "My intention is not to lose 770 teachers."

The ministry was putting together a paper with options on how to make the saving. It was due "any day".

Post-Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) president Kate Gainsford said the union was prepared to run a national campaign opposing cuts to secondary staffing.

Speaking at the association's annual conference, where Tolley will appear today, Gainsford yesterday said 98 per cent of members had voted in a secret ballot to oppose staffing cuts.

She said the Government might try to achieve savings through "an unsound decision" to increase pupil-teacher ratios in secondary schools or reduce non-contact time with pupils.

"No school in New Zealand has more staff than it needs," Gainsford said.

"We would, of course, rather work with the Government towards thoughtful, considered and coherent change in education."

New Zealand Educational Institute president Frances Nelson said primary teachers would support a PPTA national campaign against the cuts.

"We'll be right there with them," she said.

- © Fairfax NZ News