KEY POINTS:
Principals feeling the pinch from falling school donations this year have hit out at political figures who tell parents they don't have to pay.
Viv Goldsmith - a teacher at Sunnynook School who is standing for Labour in East Coast Bays - was filling in for Education Minister Chris Carter at a political forum in Auckland on Tuesday night when she said she did not pay school donations and encouraged people to send demands from schools to the minister's office.
National's education spokeswoman, Anne Tolley, yesterday labelled the stance selfish and irresponsible.
She said it was similar to a remark in January from Mr Carter that "parents choose to pay [donations] or choose not to", which prompted an angry backlash from schools.
"He's whipped around the country telling parents not to pay their donations and the reality is that if all parents listened to that, then schools would collapse," Ms Tolley said.
Ms Goldsmith could not be contacted for further comment yesterday.
Principals who spoke to the Herald said the comment made it tougher for schools - which were already struggling to bring dollars in amid tough economic conditions.
Malcolm Milner of Balmoral School in Auckland said politicians needed to be honest that the state system was no longer free.
He said studies had shown schools were underfunded and increases from the Government were not enough.
The decile 9 full primary usually reached its "conservative" budget for parent donations by October but the current take was 13 per cent down.
"It's an honourable decision not to pay your school donation but I think it's naive in today's world when you know as a parent that your school would use it to benefit the kids."
Paul Wright of Clayton Park School said the parent donation take at his decile 3 full primary in Manurewa was about 25 per cent down.
"It's caused us some difficulty but we can also see ... it's not a good time for [our families and communities]."
Mr Wright said a comment such as Ms Goldsmith's "does make it a bit tough" to attract donations but made the point that education should be free.
The School Trustees Association has repeatedly said schools are underfunded to an extent that funds raised were spent on essentials rather than "nice to haves".
In June, 15 North Shore schools - including Rangitoto College, NZ's largest, Takapuna Grammar and Northcote College - said they would not engage in the Government's Schools Plus initiative until the "dire" funding situation was recognised.
The group claimed 51 per cent of their finances was raised from community sources, such as international students fees, community trusts, family donations and fundraising.
Mr Carter has repeatedly defended the level of funding to schools and pointed out that education spending overall has almost doubled since 1999.
This year's Budget included a 5 per cent - or $171.6 million - increase over four years for schools' operations funding.
Mr Carter said yesterday that he agreed with the message that no school could force a parent to pay a donation.
"A donation is a donation."
