SCHOOL ACTIVITY DONATION AND SUBJECT CHARGES

Despite the popular belief that education is "free" in New Zealand all schools find it necessary to make some charges for resources and/or activities.

There are two types of "fees" - the school activity donation and the materials fees in subjects where students keep or consume materials. The latter apply predominantly in the senior school though there are small charges in the junior school for many subjects.

At Howick College we keep the voluntary activity donation as low as possible - for 2004 it has been set by the Board of Trustees at $205 which is the same amount as last year. This is a much lower rate than most other comparable secondary schools and indeed many primary schools. We are able to keep the donation low because we earn substantial income from international fee-paying students to supplements the level of funding from the government.

Howick is classified as a "privileged community" and the College is therefore classified as a Decile 10 school. As such we are severely disadvantaged in government funding. If we were a Decile 1 school we would gain $1.3 million extra in government funding at current rates. Approximately 70% of the Operations Grant that we receive is spent on fixed costs such as Property, Administration, and Support Staff wages. As a school however we have high expectations concerning the opportunities and resources we wish to provide for our students. The amount available after meeting the fixed costs does not allow these expectations to be met unless we gain extra income such as fees, and the donation.

We can only meet these expectations therefore if the activity donation is paid. The activity donation is applied towards funding the operation of the library, the medical unit, sports, drama, music, and ICT. All students use or benefit from one or more of these. Together these areas of activity have an annual budget of around $450,000. Without the contribution from the donation these activities would be severely curtailed.

We trust this note explains the critical importance of the activity donation and the subject-related materials fee payment and we look forward to your support so that we may continue to provide the best possible opportunities for your sons and daughters.

W J Dimery
PRINCIPAL

Sheryl McGregor
CHAIR - BOT FINANCE COMMITTEE