More charter schools not the answer

Ploughing more money into the failed charter school programme is a mistake, the Green Party said today.

The Government today announced funding in the 2016 Budget for seven more charter schools to open in 2017 and 2018, and for a new organisation to support charter school sponsors.

“It defies belief that the Government would plough ahead with more charter schools when the programme has been so plagued by problems,” Green Party education spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said today.

“No one from the Government has taken responsibility for the failed charter school in Whangaruru, and it is irresponsible to press on recklessly after that debacle.

“Complaints about cultural awareness for Māori students, having far fewer students than contracted for, rewarding students with KFC and student safety concerns are just some of the issues with the current crop of charter schools.

“The state school system ends up having to pick up the pieces when these experiments go wrong, and it is children’s education that suffers.

“The money should go into public schools that need it, not these charter schools.

“Rushing through the opening of charter schools means that children, and their education, bear the brunt of the experiment. The Ministry of Education has raised significant concerns about the process, and this has not been addressed by the Government.

“It is disturbing to see that the Government is prepared to sell out more kids in order to secure the support of the sole Act MP, David Seymour.

“The kids at Whangaruru School were sacrificed for the Government’s political agenda, and it looks more children are going to suffer the same fate,” Ms Delahunty said.

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