Private or public: the education dilemma

When we moved to Auckland, we were very fussy about where we bought a house.  The main criteria was that it be near a good state primary school.  Less than six months later, we put both our daughters on the waiting list for a private primary and secondary school on the other side of town.  Its an about-face I didn’t expect to make, but somehow I feel like we have no choice.

Our problems start with the local primary, which only goes up to year 6.  After that the only school the girls will have automatic entry to for year 6 and 7 is the local intermediate, which does not have a great reputation.  After only two years there, the sole secondary school in our zone is a co-ed with an average reputation.  We could try to get an out-of-zone enrollment at a school in a neighbouring zone, but that is, literally, a lottery.   

So the last two options are moving, or sending them to a private school.   We like our suburb, for lots of good reasons, so here we are, committed to sending them private in a year or so.  The school takes in new students at Year 1, Year 4 and Year 7, and taking my belts and braces approach to planning their education, I’m not willing to leave it until year 7 to enrol them.  So I’ve put Madeleine on the waiting list for year 4…and to have them at the same school, that means Lulu will start at Year 1, and will never even go to the local primary school that we chose this suburb for!

I know, it seems completely mad.  But this is the result of school zoning.  Ultimately parents have to pay, move, or enter a lottery to send their children to a school of their choice.     

There is more madness in the school funding system.  Schools are assigned a “decile” ranking according to the socio-economic status of the surrounding community.  A school in Herne Bay, for example, one of the wealthiest suburbs in New Zealand, will be decile 10.  A school in a poor South Auckland suburb will be decile 1.  Some of the school’s funding is dependent on decile – a decile 10 will get none of this additional funding, and will have to raise extra funds itself.  

But being in a wealthy area doesn’t mean the wealth flows into the school’s coffers, so that school is on the back foot before the school year has even begun.  The PTA is likely to spend the entire year madly fund-raising to properly fund the school. 

I know, these are high class problems to have, and plenty of children in the world would love to have even the option to go to a private school.  I don’t think New Zealand’s school zoning system works.  Parents should have more than one choice of school to send their children to.  I don’t think it should be the job of parents to find enough funding for the school to run either.