24 May 2012

School grants increase not much help to Hato Petera

7:10 pm on 24 May 2012

The chairperson of Hato Petera College in Auckland says the Budget announcement that schools operational grants will rise by 2% is welcome.

But Janice Smith says it won't make it much easier for the Maori co-educational school, which has about 100 pupils, to make ends meet.

She says the Board of Trustees is grateful for the increase in funds, but it has been increasingly difficult for some years for Hato Petera, which is a decile three school, to keep up with increased costs, as it can't rely on fundraising in the community.

Ms Smith says every year Hato Petera College enrols a number of year nine students whose standards of literacy are well below what's required.

She says it's a real issue getting those pupils to the level needed to pass NCEA.