Poorer schools' cash under threat

By STUART DYE, education reporter

Schools with high numbers of Maori and Pacific Island students face cash cuts after the Government announced an overhaul of a system which gives poorer schools more money.

The decile weighting system, introduced in 1995, means poorer schools are targeted to receive extra money to ensure they are not disadvantaged.

But Education Minister Trevor Mallard, who is also the new Race Relations Minister, said yesterday he would look at "whether this sort of funding could be better allocated".

It follows an inquiry into decile funding by the education and science committee. It recommended that the Ministry of Education research how effective the scheme is and review it in terms of a "perceived imbalance in favour of low-decile schools".

The report also said schools should be required to report on how decile funding was spent.

Mr Mallard said the Government shared some of the concerns and had asked officials to take a closer look.

"Decile funding has an ethnic weighting equivalent to about 0.5 per cent of the compulsory education budget," he said.

"The question is whether this could be better allocated on a socio-economic basis."

The decile formula is intended to enhance the education of students who face barriers to learning.

But it has led to cases where children in poorer schools are funded at nearly twice the level of students in high-income areas.

Critics have claimed it leaves some poorer schools with the most cash and is unfair on schools in wealthier areas.

But last night one of those in the poorer areas said if the funding scheme was to be withdrawn it would be "disastrous".

Keith Gayford, principal of Viscount School in Mangere and former Principals' Association president for the area, described the review as "grossly unfair" for disadvantaged children. "Nothing has changed since decile funding was introduced - the kids are in no better position than they were eight years ago - so I cannot see any basis for removing the funding."

Mr Gayford said the money at Viscount had been used for computer technology because the "vast majority" of his 800 students would not have access to computers at home.

It had also paid for a literacy specialist to help the large numbers of Pacific Island children whose first language was not English.

"It has given us some fantastic results and given these kids a competitive place in education. To change that for some politically correct reasoning would be disastrous."

Decile rating

* Under the decile-based funding formula, all state schools are rated on a socio-economic scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being poorest and 10 wealthiest.

* Census information used to calculate the indicator includes parents' income, occupation, household crowding, parents' qualifications, income support received and Maori and Pacific Island ethnicity.

* Decile one schools get an extra $682 a year a student than the richest schools.

* The decile-based funding formula was introduced in 1995.