‘Failed’ charter schools cost $125m, unions warn

Thursday, 15 February 2024

Education unions are concerned reintroducing costly charter schools will divert funding from the public education sector, which is already in need.

Despite debate on the effectiveness of charter schools, Deputy Prime Minister-in-waiting David Seymour has pledged to reintroduce them, possibly as soon as next year, after Labour abolished them in 2018.

Official Information Act figures released to NZEI Te Riu Roa show $125 million was spent on the initiative over eight years, $35m of which was departmental expenditure.

The average annual operational cost per charter school student was $18,297, nearly triple the public average of about $6600 during the same period, 2014 to 2018, NZEI said.

But Seymour, also Associate Minister of Education (Partnership Schools), said the data NZEI got compared the charter schools to established schools, not new schools, and every school was costlier when starting.

Charter schools were first introduced under a 2011 National-ACT coalition to benefit students ill-suited to mainstream education.

NZEI president Mark Potter has criticised the plan to bring them back, dubbing it a “failed and highly expensive policy”.

The OIA figures showed “millions of taxpayer money” was needed to reestablish charter schools at a time the education sector was tightening its belt, he said.

“We know there’s not enough money to be going into education in the first place, it doesn’t make sense to resurrect a failed experiment.”

Potter said many areas in the public sector could do with investment instead, like learning support to give students more access to specialist education.

Seymour said unions had a different agenda, and “always attack charter schools”.

“You know why that is? Because the teachers at charter schools don't have to give 1% of their salary to the union.

“Our education system is failing, especially for the most vulnerable students and they should care about that.

“I'm kind of glad that they're working in the union head office and not teaching kids maths, it's probably the only silver lining here.”

Post Primary Teachers Association president Chris Abercrombie has been teaching for 20 years and said Seymour’s comments about unions were “really silly”.

“No-one becomes a teacher and got involved in public education because they think it’s a money winner.

“We are opposed to this because it’s public money going to a private organisation that has no accountability and no transparency.”

Abercombie acknowledged it cost more to start up a school, “but to get that much more than a normal school was pretty ridiculous”.

The investment would be better served in public schools, which “the vast majority of students attend”.

Charter schools had about 1500 students when they were disestablished in 2018, compared to over 800,000 in the public system.

Education consultant Alwyn Poole was involved in the founding of two successful Auckland charter schools and said the alternative education avenue had many benefits.

He noted a higher cost was recorded per student as the schools were limited in size by the Ministry of Education, and many small public schools also saw such high numbers.

“I’m by no means advocating that the major solution is partner or charter schools but what I am saying is for some kids in some areas it’s a very good option.”

The education system was in “serious distress” and the funding needed for charter schools would not fix that, he said.

In 2020, the top 30 schools in New Zealand had an average 87% university entrance attainment while the bottom 30 averaged just 3%.

“Regardless of whether those partnership schools exist, those state schools need to improve and the existence of partnership schools can’t stop that.”