Burdens Borne by Some

Private Schools Labour Under Grave Injustice

The teacher unions hate private schools.    Teachers that work in the government school system don't appreciate the existence of schools they do not effectively control.  Private schools represent competition, and government functionaries do not like competition.

One of the arguments repeatedly put forward is that private schools (of which there are precious few in New Zealand) suck money out of the state's education budget.  The state pays a small annual per-pupil grant to private schools that represents a small fraction of the actual cost of educating a pupil.  This, says the state education monopolists, represents funds which should properly go to government schools. 

The counter argument, run by the Treasury, is that if all private schools closed and their pupils transferred to the government education system, the costs to the taxpayer would be substantially higher: thus, private schools actually save taxpayers money. 

Both arguments miss the real injustice and inequity inflicted upon private school parents by the current system.
  A family which sends its children to be educated in a private school suffers is taxed involuntarily to fund the state education system.  Then, dissatisfied with the government education system, they pay again to provide their children the education they deem right and appropriate.   

There is a simple solution available for a government committed to equity and fairness (sadly, none in New Zealand to date have been).  Stop all grants to private, independent schools.  Secondly, provide parents with a tax credit for each child in a private school up to the value of the annual cost of educating a child in the government education system.  This would remove the inequity immediately.  Parents who elect to have their children educated in a private independent school would not end up paying twice for their children's education. 

Of course the monopolist teacher unions and their fellow travellers would splutter in indignant outrage at such an equitable and just policy. 

A sub-theme running through union opposition to private schools is the idea that private schools are for rich bastards.  They are elitist.  In fact, many private schools--if they are so inclined--can educate children at a much lower cost than the government education system.  The reason is simple: government schools are forced to carry an onerous and constantly growing administration overhead.  The government education system is a vast bureaucracy, with ever increasing rules, regulations, demands, reports, and compliance duties. 

In a private school with which we are very familiar, the annual cost of educating a primary school pupil is around twenty percent less than education in the government schools system.  Our teachers are paid at close to state school salary levels.  The cost savings are made in two ways: not having to comply with Ministry of Education imposed overhead costs; and not running a whole lot of ancillary programmes that may be nice-to-haves, but not necessary for a high-quality education. 

Naturally our school adds a good deal more: its curriculum and modes of instruction are infused with Gospel light.  Interestingly, along with Christian families, many non-Christian parents send their kids.  Whilst they may not themselves believe in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, they do appreciate the ethics of respect, the structure, the order, and the discipline--along with the atmosphere of joy, excitement and exuberance that pervades our halls, along with academic achievement well ahead of the government school norm.  (The school is Cambridge affiliated). 

The school thrives, despite the state imposed injustice under which our parents labour.