MIXED FORTUNES IN DECILE RATINGSBy Joanna Norris More than a third of Otago schools will lose funding next year after the Ministry of Education found the number of pupils from poor families on their rolls has dropped. Conversely, some schools will get extra Government cash after numbers from poor families increased, according to new Education Ministry assessments. Schools have been granted a decile rating from one (for schools with a high proportion of children from low socio-economic communities) to 10 (for schools with a low proportion). Of the 166 schools in Otago, 57 (34%) are to lose funding, while 49 (30%) will gain cash and 60 (36%) have stayed the same, due to the new ratings. Schools is Waitaki district will gain the most cash, with 15 out of 26 granted a lower rating and thus higher funding, compared with five schools that were given a higher rating. In Clutha district, however, the tables were turned. In the district, 16 of 25 schools were rerated with a higher decile and two were granted a lower rating. Clutha Mayor Juno Hayes said many of the schools in the district did not agree with their new ratings. “It will have a major effect on schools; it seems like a government cost-cutting exercise.” He did not believe the increased rating represented the socio-economic changes in the Clutha community. “It’s taken into account a lot of unknowns and uncertainties and it all adds up to a bad result,” Mr Hayes said. In Dunedin, Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes, about the same number of schools rose as fell, although there was movement within each district. East Otago High School in Palmerston is among those to gain funding as a result of a lower decile rating. The 206-pupil school fell from decile seven to four, which, according to ministry figures, will result in $67.18 more funding per pupil, or about $13,840. Principal Tony Jenkins said the extra money would have a positive impact and help counter funding the school lost when rural levies were recalculated. “I don’t think the seven decile really ever reflected the community, anyway. In some ways, I think it was a bit artificial and I think a four will accurately reflect the community.” Mr Jenkins said many families in the community struggled to meet additional school costs and the extra funding would help the school continue to support these families. “These issues have become more obvious than they were a few years ago,” he said. Liberton Christian School, in Dunedin, was among those to have lost funding, as the school was reclassified from six to nine, news that principal Nel van’t Wout said was “like a kick in the guts”. “We have a real slice of life here, with [pupils] from all different strata, but the perception of people will be that we are elite and it’s not like that at all. I was comfortable with a six; I think we are a six or a seven.” Miss van’t Wout said the school would find it difficult without the extra funding, but was used to “managing on a shoestring”. Otago Daily Times, October 10, 2002 Back to Main Page |