Charter schools will escape added financial scrutiny on their second iteration. Image: AdobeStock by jirsak
<h2><span data-contrast="auto">Charter schools will not be legally obligated to provide financial statements each quarter. This goes against the Ministry of Education’s advice to Associate Education Minister David Seymour. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></h2>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">“There’s a danger that you dig up to kūmara so often it never gets to grow. Yes, we want frequent and rigorous financial checks because it’s taxpayer money but not much happens in a quarter,” said Seymour. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Instead, he wants financial reports to be made each half-year and audited every year, which Seymour describes as “about right for most businesses.” </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
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<p><span data-contrast="auto">Seymour’s stance on charter schools’ financial regulation has come to light following a report proactively released by the Ministry of Education, which shows Seymour disagreeing with official advice. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">He wrote that charter schools “cannot become overregulated,” writing “what other org has this obligation?” beside the recommendation. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">He also disagreed that the Ministry of Education should be allowed to issue an intervention for charter schools, stating that this should only come from the Authorisation Board. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";134233117";:false,";134233118";:false,";201341983";:0,";335551550";:1,";335551620";:1,";335559685";:0,";335559737";:0,";335559738";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<figure id="attachment_30178" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30178" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="size-medium wp-image-30178" src="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/van-tay-media-TFFn3BYLc5s-unsplash-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-30178" class="wp-caption-text">There is concern that charter schools will not be made sufficiently accountable for their use of public money. Image by Van Tay Media on Unsplash.</figcaption></figure>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">These recommendations mean that this time around, charter schools will face less financial reporting than during their first iteration. However, education staff have said that financial and management oversight during the first round of charter schools from 2013 to 2018 may have led to poor accountability. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";134233117";:false,";134233118";:false,";201341983";:0,";335551550";:1,";335551620";:1,";335559685";:0,";335559737";:0,";335559738";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">In their old form, charter schools were reviewed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The report noted that “in general, PwC was not able to gain full confidence.” </span><span data-ccp-props="{";134233117";:false,";134233118";:false,";201341983";:0,";335551550";:1,";335551620";:1,";335559685";:0,";335559737";:0,";335559738";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Charter schools have seen </span><a href="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/2024/07/educators-slam-charter-schools/" target="_blank"><span data-contrast="none">significant opposition</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> from some in the education sector due to their model of providing privately-run education with public funding. The government has allocated $153 million over four years to set up the model, which critics say could be better used in the </span><a href="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/2024/05/charter-schools-establishment-money-could-be-spent-on-over-700-teacher-aides-instead/" target="_blank"><span data-contrast="none">public system</span></a><span data-contrast="auto">. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Kieran Gainsford, the vice-president for PPTA Te Wehengarua said financial accountability is only one of the concerns their members have over charter schools. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">“We saw last time with charter schools there were issues with some sponsors underperforming or issues with their use of taxpayer money.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">“I think it’s obvious to any member of the public that self-reporting is unlikely to lead to good outcomes and good use of taxpayer money for education.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">“We think we can do better with $153 million of taxpayer money than allowing schools to drop safeguards like having registered teachers or having to teach a national curriculum.” </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><b><span data-contrast="auto">Additional changes to bill</span></b><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">There have been further additions to the bill since it was made open for public consultation, including preventing unions from engaging in combined bargaining for teachers across charter schools. The consultation window was briefly extended to account for these changes but have since closed.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">State school employers may require their teachers to provide services to charter schools or students enrolled in charter schools. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Gainsford said although the legislation is vague, he believes teachers in state schools may be made to take classes if a charter school is unable to provide the whole curriculum. Students from charter schools may also attend a state school for certain specialist classes. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Contracts for teachers will also cover a longer ten-year period and teachers must at minimum have a limited authority to teach. Unqualified teachers will be subject to Teaching Council’s disciplinary processes but not the competency processes required at public schools. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The Minister of Education can also direct a state school to convert to the charter school model. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Gainsford said that there are major concerns around the fate of students enrolled in poorly performing charter schools. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">“Where do parents send their young people to school if they don’t agree with the direction of their local charter school?</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">“The consultation process has been really rushed and there hasn’t been a lot of dialogue with the community about what could happen to their local school.” </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><b><span data-contrast="auto">Lessons from 2013 – 2018</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Charter schools are supposedly meant to meet the needs of underserved students by improving school choice. However, an </span><a href="https://assets.education.govt.nz/public/Documents/our-work/information-releases/responses-to-Official-Information-Act-requests/1318905-Appendix-A_Redacted_Part1.pdf" target="_blank"><span data-contrast="none">evaluation</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> of the charter school model found that although charter schools were able to reach and enroll underserved student groups like Māori, Pasifika, low SES students and those with special education needs, the achievement of these students was unclear. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The Advisory Board concluded they weren’t able to have confidence about the performance of schools. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">There was some evidence that charter schools used their legislated flexibility to meet the needs of their student groups, but evaluator Martin Jenkin said this innovation was not “substantial innovation in terms of pedagogy or curricula design” when compared to state-schools. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>

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