A clarification of Donations and Attendance Dues

We often field questions from whānau about Attendance Dues and School contributions.

Attendance dues

All Catholic Dioceses charge attendance dues, which are a legally binding charge on all parents and caregivers who enrol their children at a Catholic school. It is payable unless the proprietor waives the charges in special circumstances.

Attendance dues are authorised under the Education and Training Act 2020. They are a separate payment to any school donations, and are used to pay costs associated with property and insurance that are not funded by the government. Attendance dues are not a donation and are not eligible for a tax credit.

In this diocese, attendance dues are set at $402.50 per year(gst incl) for each student. The invoice is sent out from the parish at the beginning of the year, and should be paid to the parish.

Where a parent has four or more children at a Catholic school, their attendance dues invoice will be for three children only – i.e. the fourth child, and any further children, will not be charged attendance dues.

Special Character Contribution (included in invoice from Parish)

Catholic Schools also have a Catholic special character contribution, which helps cover the costs associated with the delivery of professional development services in support of Catholic special character in Catholic primary and secondary schools. It is a donation paid to the Catholic Education Office and is eligible for a tax credit.

Our special character contribution is $60 per year. It is included in the invoice for attendance dues at the beginning of the year and is paid to the Parish.

School Donations

St Francis of Assisi Catholic School requests that parents pay a school donation. The amount is set by the board at the end of the school year, and is advertised to parents in the school newsletter at the beginning of the new school year. Payment of the donation is voluntary, and parents can claim an income tax credit from Inland Revenue.

Our school donation is currently set at $100 per child for the year for up to 2 children in a family i.e. If you have more than 2 children you are only asked to contribute towards two.  The amount of this contribution is listed each term at $25 per term.

Student Activity Contributions

Contributions towards activities are requested to cover the costs of experiences, and services that are extra to the school’s curriculum obligations. 

These amounts have been kept the same as last year.

Year 1-4 $65 per student per year

Year 5-8 $115 per student per year

Parents are informed in advance of any additional optional contributions.

Extra Contributions

If your child is involved in other activities e.g choir, Kapa haka, zone sport events sometimes there can be extra contributions asked for, buses for example. If this is the case it will be listed separately.  

Extra Activity Costs

There are some out of school activities that incur actual costs (not contributions). If you register your child for activities such as Touch Rugby, Basketball, Waterpolo etc you must pay the amount that is invoiced to you or your child will not be able to participate. Of course we do not wish anyone to miss out so if you are experiencing financial difficulty please make a time to see Jo, or email principal@stfranicschch.school.nz. This will be treated in confidence.

Hero Portal

You should be able to see your statement by clicking on the Finance tab (dollar note icon) in the left hand menu. If you do not have access please contact Pauline or Bev in the office.