On the afternoon of Monday September 12 there is a combined Paid Union Meeting for our teachers and teacher aides who are Union members.
Some schools are closing at this time - we are not closing.
We have sufficient non-union-member staff to be able to provide care and supervision for our children. I am a union member, but will be staying on here to help with care and supervision.
School will finish at the usual time of 3pm. Thanks.
Our children do best when teachers and parents work closely together. This is one of the strengths of our system, and of Western Heights in particular. Seesaw is a great example of a WHS initiative to help parents and teachers work together.
As a teaching profession, we need parental support and understanding in order to be able to do our job well. One of the reasons we didn’t close our school for this Paid Union Meeting is because we don’t want to inconvenience you. Half days can be really disruptive for working parents.
We hope though you will have a look at and a think about some of the changes the government is planning, and decide whether they are in the best interests of our children, or maybe just a way to save money for the government.
A few years ago the government wanted to shut down Technology Centres at Intermediate schools across New Zealand. Parents all over the country stood up and said no. They valued the soft and hard materials, the food technology, and the important life skills these centres offered. Parents opposed that move so strongly, the government changed its mind.
Our union members are meeting to discuss the government’s review of education funding provision.
Some of the information we have received about their proposals and possible plans is concerning to many.
The Government proposal would dramatically change the way schools are funded. Principals and Boards of Trustees would have to make trade-offs between teaching staff and other costs schools face.
Teachers are very worried that the global budget would lead to:
- fewer teachers and larger class sizes
- less job security for teachers
- lower quality teaching
- fewer hours for teacher aides and support staff
- more complex financial work for Boards of Trustees
The Government's current funding review is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to better fund education. NZEI Te Riu Roa and PPTA are the unions that represent more than 60,000 teachers and support staff from birth to year 13. They have asked all union members at our school to attend meetings in September to hear more about the proposal and help determine the education sector’s response.
It is important for union members in our school to attend these meetings to have a say about how we get better funding, not bulk funding.
