Circular 2011/19 - State Funding for 2012

Date 08 September 2011 | Number 2011/19 | Category Resourcing

Overview

This circular is about Operational Funding Grant and Staffing Entitlement for 2012.

The action needed is use the information provided in this circular for planning for 2012

It is intended for chairpersons of board of trustees and principals in all state and state integrated schools

For more information contact the Resourcing Contact Centre, Ministry of Education:

Resourcing Division, Ministry of Education, PO Box 1666, Wellington
Phone 04 463 8383, Fax 04463 8374 Email resourcing@minedu.govt.nz.

GST exclusive notices

Operational Funding Entitlement and Instalment Notices will, from 2012, display the entitlement for each component as a GST exclusive amount. This change was implemented to support schools in their financial planning.

Staffing and funding calculators

Funding and staffing calculators are available at http://www.fundingcalc.minedu.govt.nz. These calculators allow schools to model different roll scenarios. The results can be saved to a spreadsheet. The results can also be calculated as GST inclusive and/or exclusive amounts.

2012 Operational Funding

Rate changes

For 2012 the adjustment to funding has been targeted to particular components of the operations grant. The following funding components have been increased for 2012.

Per Pupil funding 

ICT funding 

There has been an increase of 6.9% to Heat, Light and Water allocations for 2012.

The Base Funding rate for composite and area schools, and year 9-13 secondary schools has also increased. For further information on this please refer to the Funding, Staffing and Allowances Handbook.

2012 Staffing

Secondary schools

From the beginning of the 2012 school year an additional 1,000 Middle Management Allowances (MMA) will be available for allocation, with a further 1,775 from 2013.

From the beginning of the 2012 school year, each school will receive an additional 0.04 FTTE for each second year beginning teacher who is granted a second year teacher time allowance.

Area schools

From the beginning of the 2012 school year an additional 100 Middle Management Allowances (MMA) will be available for allocation, with a further 100 from 2013.

Resource Teacher: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) Transformation

The Ministry, working with the education sector, is transforming the RTLB service so it delivers better support for schools and students with substantial barriers to learning.
For those schools that currently have RTLB teachers, the RTLB staffing has been removed from staffing entitlement notices for 2012. Once the transition is complete, a revised staffing notice with the RTLB staffing entitlements will be issued.

You can find lists of all the clusters, and further information, at http://rtlb.tki.org.nz/About-RTLB-service/RTLB-transformation.

ORS - Aggregating sensory resources

From 2012, Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) staffing, currently given to schools enrolling students with a sensory impairment verified in ORS, will be transferred to the relevant sensory school.

This is to ensure that students verified for the (ORS) and who are blind or have low vision, or are deaf or hearing impaired, receive a service suited to their individual needs.

If your school enrols a new ORS student with a sensory impairment during 2011 please contact the relevant sensory school principal so that services can be arranged for the changed approach in 2012.

If you currently have an ORS student with a sensory impairment and have not received a letter from the Ministry regarding this change, please contact Yvonne Hope at yvonne.hope@minedu.govt.nz.

Requests for review of provisional resourcing roll

Boards may apply for a review of their provisional resourcing roll if they consider that there are factors the Ministry has not taken into account. Boards will be required to demonstrate that the Ministry's estimate of the provisional resourcing roll is at least 5% at variance with that of the board’s. Clear evidence supporting this variance will need to be provided before the Ministry will consider approving a change. A list of projected enrolments alone will not be sufficient.

The 2012 Provisional Staffing Roll Review form is available from the Resourcing forms section and must be sent to the Resourcing Division by 7 October 2011.

The following table details how to apply for a review of your 2012 provisional resourcing roll:

Staffing reduction

Responsibility for reducing staffing lies with school boards. Assistance, if required, should be sought from the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA). The Ministry is not involved in the staffing reduction process, except to give prior approval to access the surplus staffing provisions (supernumerary allowance, retraining course approval, severance payments and long service payments) of the relevant Collective Agreement where a teacher has been identified.

Please note that approval from the Ministry (Resourcing Division) should be sought before any discussion is held with a teacher, identified as surplus, around their access to the severance or long service payment provisions of the Primary Teachers' Collective Agreement.

The Ministry will fund surplus staffing costs only under certain conditions, and where procedures have been actioned within the timelines and guidelines notified by the Resourcing Division. Please refer to the Funding, Staffing and Allowances Handbook for full details. If you require further clarification after reading the information in the handbook, please contact the Resourcing Division.

The following table details timeframes for surplus staffing procedures.

Surplus Staffing Report forms are available from the Resourcing forms section.

Issued by

John Clark, Group Manager Resourcing Division, Te Wāhanga Whakarato Rawa
Ministry of Education, National Office, 45 – 47 Pipitea Street, Thorndon, P O Box 1666, Wellington, New Zealand

Phone 04-463 8000, Fax 04-463 8001
Email resourcing@minedu.govt.nz