By Bronwyn Sell
education reporter
The Education Review Office has found little to choose between the performance of bulk-funded schools and others despite years of controversy over the policy.
Lobby groups and opposition politicians attacked the office's report as electioneering even before the Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley, released it at Avondale College in Auckland.
The principal of Avondale College, Phil Raffills, is the National candidate for Roskill.
Bulk-funding of teacher salaries, which has been available to schools since 1995, is a contentious election issue: National supports it and Labour vows to scrap it.
The report said there was no significant difference in the performance of schools which had opted for bulk-funding and those whose teacher salaries were paid directly by the Government.
However, the boards of trustees in bulk-funded schools were performing better.
The report said 824 schools, nearly one in three, had opted for bulk-funding.
But it was difficult to evaluate its effect on their performance because it was so new and many other factors were involved.
The report compared 100 bulk-funded schools and 100 directly resourced schools, and found minor differences.
"There are high-performing and innovative schools in both groups as well as schools that struggle to provide good education for their students."
Some bulk-funded schools had problems developing financial systems to cope with the switch and in some relationships with staff had soured.
But in general, teacher conditions had not declined and in many cases they had improved because of reduced class size, more flexibility and increased support staffing.
The Post Primary Teachers Association president, Graeme Macann, said the Education Review Office had allowed itself to be used by letting Mrs Shipley launch the report so close to an election.
The Minister of Education, Nick Smith, decided to release the report yesterday, two weeks after he received it. He requested it in February but it appears no deadline was set.
Dr Smith said the research showed bulk-funding was working, but it was not wise to force it on schools, since some struggled financially.
The PPTA, which opposes bulk-funding, said the only reason schools chose it was to get an extra grant.
Labour's education spokesman, Trevor Mallard, said bulk-funding could encourage schools to employ the cheapest applicants as teachers.
