School Payment Complaints

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29853, 20 June 1962, Page 14

School Payment Complaints

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, June 19. “Parents who have specific complaints about the way the requests for contributions are being handled should first complain to the school committee concerned,” said the Minister of Education (Mr Tennent) to-night. He was commenting on the Hastings Housewives’ Union's allegations that primary school-children were being victimised when their parents refused to pay regular contributions to school funds as requested by school committees

additional materials and amenities that they thought their schools should have. Some committees raised funds for these purposes by arranging fetes, gala days, evening functions, etc., and others had adopted a system under w-h-ich parents contributed a fixed sum annually or once a term, he said. Printed On Board

The housewives claim tha. the names of children who have not brought the levy money to school are printed on the blackboard by teachers for all to read, according to a Hastings message. A letter sent to the Minister says that. many parents are being unduly harassed and distressed by demands for funds arbitrarily imposed by school committees, and asks for some measure of parent protection from such demands.

Mr Tennent said that if parents failed to get satisfaction from the school committee, they should approach their education board. It was not clear, said the Minister, whether the Housewives' Union had complained to the Hawke’s Bay Education Board, but he had referred their complaint to that board

The Housewives’ Union also said that at some schools children whose parents did not pay the levy were prevented from taking part in sporting activities.

The system of raising funds for extra school equipment by committees was not administered by education boards but the Hawke’s Bayboard would certainly not stand for the victimisation of children over the raising of funds, the board's secretarymanager. Mr P. L. Page, said today.

Mr Tennent said that most schools raised a certain amount of money locally so as to be able to, take advantage of the £1 for £1 subsidy scheme, under which some items of equipment could be obtained and to buy

No abuses of the voluntary contribution scheme are recalled in primary schools of

Canterbury and Westland and there has never been a report of victimisation, according to education authorities consulted last evening.

Mr H. C. Anderson, retiring president of the Canterbury School Committees’ Association, said his association and, no doubt, the Canterbury Education Board, would be very ready to investigate any such case. The voluntary contribution scheme seemed to be well accepted in Canterbury and Westland as far preferable to the continued pestering of parents to support fairs and other money-raising efforts. Mr Anderson said. On the assurance of school committees that no other appeal would be made at least one school receives contributions from all parents and most had a very high return. The usual pattern was £1 a family. Subsidised, this was worth £2 for a big range of extra equipment. Most parents appreciated this. In many post-primary schols. Mr Anderson said, the school levy was almost a condition of enrolment.

“There are always some people who will not respond to any appeal,’’ said Mr Anderson. “They are carried by those who do. But I would be very surprised to hear any allegation of victimisation of children for this reason.”