Heads ready to do battle for bulk-funding

By BRONWYN SELL education reporter

Heads of some bulk-funded schools say they will not give up the scheme without a fight.

Labour and the Alliance plan to abolish bulk-funding, under which money for teacher salaries is paid to a school to distribute, rather than directly to its teachers.

Labour plans to let the 325 schools who signed up before June 18, 1998, see out their contracts, usually three years. But about 500 others which have signed up since would have to give up bulk-funding at the end of next year.

Bulk-funding has been hailed by many principals and boards of trustees as a pathway to innovation and flexibility, but the teachers' unions oppose it.

Warren Peat, acting principal of Avondale College, one of the first bulk-funded schools, said it had a contract with the Ministry of Education to bulk-fund indefinitely.

"If the minister of the incoming Government chooses to break the contract with the college then I guess we argue about that in a court of law."

Labour education spokesman Trevor Mallard, a candidate for the job of education minister, said Labour hoped to change the Education Act to make bulk-funding contracts void.

His Alliance counterpart, Dr Liz Gordon, said the party would support Labour's position, and wanted to introduce the promised reforms.

"The last thing we want to do is to get litigious principals working against us from the start.

"On the other hand, if macho principals want to take on the Government, then I think we would be very annoyed indeed."

The chairman of the Westlake Boys High School board, Dr John Russell, said he would like the new Government to compromise so Westlake could continue to enjoy the flexibility of bulk-funding.

Rangitoto College principal Allan Peachey said the school would be devastated if bulk-funding ended. "I believe it is going to be very, very difficult and cause a lot of anguish to untangle [bulk-funding]."

The Southern Cross Campus director, Terry Bates, said he would prefer the school to remain bulk-funded, but was prepared to change.