KEY POINTS:
Three Auckland school principals say the Government should admit that free education is an illusion as schools hit parents ever harder in the pocket for donations to cover the costs of running a school.
In a Herald survey of donations at Auckland state schools, the average has gone up to $179 in secondary schools - an increase on $163 in 2005 - and ranged from zero at Tamaki College to $775 at Auckland Grammar.
Of the 43 secondary schools surveyed, over half had put their donations up since 2005, 16 were the same and three had decreased.
Donations have also reached lofty heights at some primary and intermediate schools.
On average, parents in central Auckland areas and the North Shore paid $162 - more than twice as much as those in west Auckland, where only one school asked for more than $200 and the average was $80, and east/south Auckland, where it was $75.
The principals of Macleans College, Auckland Grammar and Epsom Girls Grammar said the increasing reliance on donations by their schools made "free education" a myth.
A Ministry of Education report on school funding last year found that on average one-third of school revenue came from parent donations, international student fees and fundraising.
But Byron Bentley, principal of Macleans College, said the proportion was far higher at some schools. Government funding covered 54 per cent of his school's costs. Fees from international students covered 24 per cent, and parent donations of $435 amounted to 16 per cent.
He said the parent donation was now used to subsidise the daily running costs of the school, such as administration, water and electricity, rather than extracurricular services.
"So it is very unhelpful when the Government, which is currently underfunding schools, keeps telling parents it is a free education system. It's never been free so let's be more realistic. There is a huge gap between what the Government are supplying and what we run our schools on. The only thing saving us is foreign students and the fact most our parents pay their donations."
Minister of Education Steve Maharey said donations had consistently stayed at about 9 per cent of all school income since 2000 and funding for schools had increased from $3.8 billion in 1999 to $5.6 billion this year.
He said fundraising was a tradition for New Zealand schools "and most parents are willing to contribute for the extras that school donations buy to enhance the education experiences of their children".
However, National Party education spokeswoman Katherine Rich said parents and international students were being increasingly called on to provide "buffer funding" for schools to cover costs.
"I don't think there is a parent in the country who now believes there is a free education system. They're asked to write out cheques almost on a weekly basis."
Auckland Grammar headmaster John Morris said his school would go bankrupt without foreign students or donations, which almost 90 per cent of parents paid.
"Lower decile schools get quite substantial amounts of funding which we have no access to whatsoever. But the parent community has expectations and there is a cost to that. This whole idea of free education is illusory and has led to the ridiculous situation where schools are relying on foreign students' fees and donations."
Epsom Girls Grammar principal Annette Sharp said her school also depended on locally raised funds.
"It is almost a paradox in that it is a donation, yet we are so dependent on it. Education is free, yet to provide it we have to ask parents to make a donation."
One of the biggest increases since last year was at Westlake Girls High School, where donations increased to $275 after sitting on $175 for the past eight years.
Principal Alison Gernhoefer said the increase was partly to keep even with Westlake Boys High School, but mainly because of increased costs as the Government added new parts to the curriculum.
Another uncertain factor for schools is a slump in foreign fee-paying students - who must pay full fees averaging over $10,000 a year. Numbers have fallen 30 per cent since 2003, and schools now get a total of $75 million less in tuition fees.
Last year's ministry report said the operations funding had not kept abreast of costs such as information technology, changes to the curriculum wrought by Government policy, and higher compliance costs.
The Government is also reviewing the levels of its operational funding - the funding to cover the day-to-day running of a school. It has hinted more money will be forthcoming in this year's Budget.
Who Pays Most
Secondary
* Auckland Grammar $775
* Epsom Girls Grammar $600**
* Macleans College $435
* Glendowie College $330
* Westlake Boys High $300
* Westlake Girls High $275
Primary and intermediate
* Pasadena Intermediate, Pt Chevalier $460
* Meadowbank School $433
* Remuera School $425
* Kohimarama School $400
** $450 parent donation plus $150 building donation
Macleans College
* Decile ten
* Donation $435
* Paid by about 85 per cent of parents.
This year Macleans College will charge its students more to go to the ball, the graduation dinner and on sporting trips if their parents have not paid their school donation.
The school has a $435 annual donation which principal Byron Bentley says pays for about 16 per cent of the schools' total costs.
While most schools take no steps beyond reminder notices to get donations, at Macleans College this year non fee-payers will pay $100 to go to the school ball instead of $80. The school magazine will be $50 instead of free, and non-payers will pay $80 instead of $55 to go to the Graduation Dinner. The students will also pay different amounts for school trips and up to $200 more for major sport tournaments.
"If we don't do this it means other parents are subsidising activities for those who do not pay it. It's user pays," said Mr Bentley. "They don't have to go to these things."
National Party education spokeswoman Katherine Rich said such a system seemed to make the "donation" in effect a compulsory fee.
However, Minister of Education Steve Maharey said it did not appear to run foul of Ministry of Education guidelines which state when schools are attempting to recover donations, "no student should be publicly harassed or denied information or privileges available to other students."
"If schools subsidise certain activities, such as the school magazine or school ball, from parental donations, then it is reasonable that people who do not pay the donation should pay the full cost," he said.
Mr Bentley said the school made allowances in cases of genuine hardship, and gave options such as instalment payments for those who could not pay in one go.
Edendale School
* Sandringham
* Decile five
* Donation $100
* Paid by 45 per cent of parents
If principal Rosemary Vivien's prediction comes true, Edendale School could find itself relying more on parents to pay its donations.
The Sandringham school is one of several waiting with trepidation for the assessment of schools' decile rankings that follows each Census. The school's income from the Government is partly determined by the wealth of the community it is in and Sandringham is on shifting grounds.
"We are decile five and in the last Census we were decile three. We do think we will go up again, unfortunately, which means less operational funding, so we will have to rely on the donations a bit more than we do."
Ms Vivien said her school had managed to keep donations at $100 for the past four years and about 45 per cent of parents paid it.
"We always hope parents will pay. We ... hope for a good return but you just can't rely on that in such a mixed area because not everyone can afford it."
Mangere College
* Decile one
* Donation $40
* Paid for by 30 per cent of parents.
Under the "Mangere College guarantee", if a student leaves the school with no NCEA qualifications, all the donations they have paid are returned.
Principal John Heyes said the policy has been in place at the predominantly Pacific Islander school since the late 1990s.
"The thinking behind it was 'okay then, we will put our money where our mouth is'. We do believe we provide a good educational service so if there was a sense a student had failed then what right do we have to hang on to that donation?"
The policy had never been used, either because a donation was never paid or the student didn't fail. Mr Heyes admits the donation is negligible - usually enough to pay for the school magazine, for which students who haven't paid the donation pay $5. The school is decile one and attracts enough Government funding to run "on a very careful budget".
