Thirty-seven Auckland state high schools don’t ask parents for voluntary donations, while 21 do.
Parents don’t have to pay the donations because state education is free by law.
But some families have told the Herald they’ve faced “massive financial stress” paying donations on top of compulsory costs such as school camps.
Patrick Drumm, headmaster of Mount Albert Grammar, said government funding didn’t cover the additional staff the school needed to run its academic, arts and sporting programmes.
Donations consequently boosted “every corner of our school life”, he said.
“It allows our young people to experience a breadth of opportunities well beyond those offered by any other state school.”
The then-Labour Government tried to lessen the impact of donations by introducing a scheme in 2020 to pay state schools $150 per student if they didn’t ask families for donations.
However, it was targeted at communities in less advantaged areas.
Schools in wealthier suburbs – those deemed by the Ministry of Education to have an Equity Index measure below 432 – were ineligible.
The Herald found the amount 18 Auckland state high schools planned to request in donations in 2026 or did request in 2025 (in cases where the school hasn’t yet published its requested amount for next year).
Most schools ask for significantly smaller donations for a second or third child at the school from the same family.
Mt Albert Grammar, for instance, asks for $550 for the first child, $200 for the second and $50 for a third.
Principals at those schools seeking donations say they rely on parental help to cover the government funding shortfall.
Epsom Girls Grammar principal Brenda McNaughton wrote to parents earlier this year saying her school received “the lowest possible levels” of funding.
“Without the income from the parent donations each year, Epsom Girls Grammar School would struggle to operate,” she said.
Auckland Grammar headmaster Tim O’Connor has similarly said in past media reports donations were more a case of breaking even than being a cash cow.
The Herald sought comment from Auckland Grammar but did not receive a response by deadline.
‘Massive financial stress’
High school and primary parents have told the Herald in recent months donations and extra-curricular fees pile on financial pressure.
One single mother north of Auckland, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she suffered “massive financial stress” paying donations to her school.
She only paid because she thought they were compulsory fees, she said.
She believed the school hadn’t distinguished clearly enough between donations and fees because of emails stating learners who hadn’t paid “may not be able to continue in certain subjects”.
In another section it called donations optional but also “essential”.
She and other parents weren’t given receipts, meaning the donations couldn’t have been claimed as tax-deductible, she said.
She eventually realised the donations were voluntary and after what she described as a months-long battle received a refund, but not before being put into “hardship”, she said.
One Auckland mother said while many extracurricular activities that required compulsory payments on top of donations were technically optional, refusing to pay them left her child “sitting in a class on their own like a leper”.
She claimed it felt like her high school was chasing new requests for money “every week”.
Her school asked for $96 per child for swimming lesson fees – despite also offering free summer swim lessons – and $140 for science and activity fees, such as dances and “garden-to-table” cooking classes.
“There are fundraisers, discos, coloured shirt days for just about every kind of charity that all require ‘donations’ or tickets,” she said.
She wished the school would “focus” on getting her “kids to read and write” and let her sort out the swimming, dancing and cooking at home.
Another parent said costs had risen so high her family couldn’t afford to attend the school plays.
Having already paid for costumes for her two children, tickets to the junior and senior school plays were costing $80 for both parents.
“The cost of school discos has risen to $15 per ticket. They give them an ice block and chips but there is no option to pay less and not get the food,” she said.
Donations versus fees
It’s the time of year when donation requests land in inboxes, but legal experts have reminded parents they don’t have to pay.
The Community Law Centre’s website said schools must make it clear donations are optional.
“Unfortunately, some schools use the term ‘fee’ or even ‘levy’ to describe the voluntary donation, which makes it seem like whānau have to pay it – this is wrong.”
Crucially, schools cannot punish students for non-payment.
Community Law warned schools could be breaking the law if they withhold a student’s school report to “encourage” payment.
They also cannot stop a student from attending a curriculum-based event, such as a Year 11 geography trip for an assessment, just because a donation wasn’t paid.
Mount Albert Grammar School headmaster Patrick Drumm says donations help every corner of school life at his college. Photo / supplied
However, there was nuance.
If a student makes something they want to take home, such as a woodwork project, the school could charge for materials, for instance, and withhold the item if unpaid.
Similarly, extracurricular learning excursions – study or sport that weren’t part of essential learning, such as a weekend ski trip, school ball or cultural excursion – could attract fees.
One example is swimming lessons being free if part of the general curriculum but incurring a fee if they are voluntary lunchtime activities.
Anything deemed to be a donation must be labelled as such and schools cannot charge GST on them.
Parents can also claim a 33.3% tax credit back from the IRD on any donation they make.