$345,000 extra for local schools | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

Sixty-eight schools in Wairarapa would receive an estimated extra $345,000 in operational funding as a result of changes to the decile funding formula.

New funding of $27 million is to go into schools across the country each year, as a result of the changes to school deciles announced by Co-ordinating Minister, Race Relations, Trevor Mallard.

The changes mean 98 per cent of schools will receive additional operational funding from 1 January 2005. The remainder won't lose any funding.

Wairarapa MP Georgina Beyer said the change "shows our Government's commitment to lifting education standards for all our students.

"It is excellent news for local schools, and I'm sure will be put to really good use for local students," Ms Beyer said.

This increase for 2005 means that overall, schools' operational funding will increase by over $50 million in just one year - a 5 per cent increase between 2004 and 2005.

"In 2005, the Labour-led Government will have increased operational funding by 13.3 per cent in real per-student terms since 1999."

Final funding won't be known until the March 2005 roll returns.

In the announcement, the ethnicity weighting is being removed from the decile funding formula.

This was because evidence showed there were better ways to lift the educational achievement of Maori and Pasifika students.

The Government is investing in particular in tailored programmes that actually work in the classroom such as teacher professional development, and today two new teacher development initiatives were also announced.