Time to shut door on private schools, says teachers' union

The Post Primary Teachers' Association wants to repeal the state integration act as financial worries force more private schools to consider it as an option.

The union supported the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act when it was introduced in 1975 but has been calling for it to be repealed since 1984.

The argument is becoming more pertinent as the recession forces a greater number of private schools either to close or become absorbed into the state system, says PPTA president Kate Gainsford.

Papers to be delivered at the union's annual conference next month claim the integration system gives an advantage to integrated schools at a cost to the taxpayer.

Integrated schools operate a maximum roll, which the PPTA claims allows them to hand-pick students to boost their ranking on league tables or to access wealthier parents willing to donate more money to the school.

By commanding higher school donations, these institutions are able to employ extra teachers and reduce class sizes, the paper says.

Often the new integrated schools are either small or have the effect of decreasing rolls at surrounding schools, making them less viable.

The net effect is an increase in the number of very small secondary schools, which lack any economies of scale and are thus very expensive to operate, the paper says.

Mrs Gainsford said she was aware of an argument that the National Government's decision to give $35 million to private schools would benefit the state sector because it would prevent schools turning to integration, but the claim did not stack up against "empirical evidence".

She said private schools should be able to manage their costs in ways that state schools were required to, for example by reducing staff or the breadth of subjects offered.

Not only should no further schools be able to become integrated, but the funding given to existing state-integrated schools should be looked at and should not be "unduly privileged".

Robyn Prior, chairwoman of the Association of Integrated Schools and deputy chairwoman of the Association of Proprietors of Integrated Schools, confirmed that there had been much more interest in state integration from private schools this year.

Even large metropolitan private schools had been considering the move, whereas in the past it had mostly been the small provincial private schools.

But Ms Prior dismissed claims that state-integrated schools were "unduly privileged".

She said it was important for New Zealand to support schools offering a range of religions and philosophies as this allowed parents a choice.

However, integrated schools would welcome more transparency in the way funding was delivered and the legislation was worded as some sections were "open to interpretation".

"The act has worked very well and has survived the test of time," Ms Prior said.

"However, sometimes the wording could be more clear."

A spokesman for the Minister of Education, Anne Tolley, declined to comment on the PPTA's claims but a ministerial spokesman said state integration was considered case by case.