Are charter schools in New Zealand cheaper than state schools?

Not in any simple like-for-like sense. Official charter school funding material says property and services funding are excluded from direct comparisons because state school costs are not reported in a comparable way.

Do new charter schools get start-up funding?

Yes. Official documents say new charter schools receive establishment funding and support before opening, including pre-opening staffing support and other establishment-related funding.

ACT are lying to you about Charter Schools by comparing Apples with Potatoes and pretending it’s fruit

Q: What costs are excluded from charter school funding comparisons?

The official material says property and services funding are excluded. It also notes that services such as IT, payroll and professional learning are centrally provided to state schools, making straight per-student comparisons misleading.

ByMartyn Bradbury 13 April 202613 April 2026

ACT are selling New Zealand a dodgy charter schools comparison by pretending the numbers are clean when the Government’s own documents say they aren’t. If you strip out property, central services and establishment costs, then compare that to state schools as if it’s the same thing, you’re not comparing apples with apples. You’re comparing apples with potatoes and pretending it’s fruit.

The ACT Party flex on charter schools is not the amazing win they seem to think it is.

They are comparing apples with potatoes and pretending it’s fruit.

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What ACT leave out of the charter schools comparison

ACT are leaving out enormous costs to misrepresent the difference between charter schools and state schools.

The Government’s own funding factsheet says property and services funding are excluded because state school funding is “not reported in a comparable way”. It also says services such as IT, payroll and professional learning are handled centrally for state schools. So the headline per-student number is not the true total cost per student.

That matters because state schools get buildings, infrastructure and centrally managed support through the Ministry of Education, while charter schools are funded through a different structure again. You can’t strip those costs out, then pretend the comparison is honest.

It gets worse. The official documents also show new charter schools receive establishment funding and pre-opening support, including funding for senior staff before the school even opens. Cabinet material also refers to establishment costs, property costs and base funding for new schools. In other words, early charter school costs are distorted by design.

At one point, seven charter schools were operating with just 215 students between them — meaning eye-watering cost per student.

The Government now says those rolls have grown. Fine.

But that proves the point — early charter schools are expensive, volatile, and easy to spin depending on which moment you cherry-pick.

So when ACT boast about charter school efficiency, ask the obvious question: efficient compared to what, exactly? Because once you leave out the bits that make the numbers comparable, all you’ve got left is a political sales pitch.

ACT are lying to you about Charter Schools by comparing Apples with Potatoes and pretending it’s fruit.