Schools on diesel heating prepare for big bills as government considers support

Schools that use diesel for heating are locking up their fuel tanks and preparing for big bills when they return from the April holidays.

They were expecting the Education Ministry would help cover the extra cost if the fuel crisis kept prices high, but no details had been confirmed or made public.

Meanwhile, some schools reported teachers and parents car-pooling to keep costs down.

At the South Island’s biggest secondary school, Burnside High, the principal, Scott Haines, said most of the school was heated by diesel boilers and the price of diesel would have a direct but manageable effect on the school’s budget.

“We burnt 77,000 litres of diesel last year at Burnside High School to heat the campus. So the quantum is large,” he said.

Haines said Burnside last year spent $108,900 on diesel and one of the first steps the school took in response to the fuel crisis was to improve security around its 10,000-litre diesel tank.

“Now it’s locked in a cage with external lighting and CCTV infrastructure on it,” he said.

Haines said Burnside purchased diesel through an all-of-government contract so the price was relatively good and the Education Ministry was working on a fuel-support allowance for schools with diesel boilers.

“Anything they can give us there will help offset the additional payments the school’s making but beyond that, frankly, it’s just a cost of doing business, isn’t it?” he said.

“It simply means that our heat, light, water component, that budget line is going to blow out pretty handsomely. But in the scheme of things, in terms of the wider school budget … it’s not a huge figure.”

Haines said fuel prices did not appear to be affecting student attendance but there appeared to be more bicycles in the school’s bike-stands and some teachers were car-pooling.

At another Christchurch school, Addington Te Kura Taumata, principal Donna Bilas said about half the school relied on a diesel boiler for heating.

Addington Te Kura Taumata principal Donna Bilas.
Photo: Supplied / Addington Te Kura Taumata

Bilas said it normally cost $2500-3000 to fill the school’s diesel tank and she expected that bill would be a lot higher this year.

“Normally our diesel use, we do two to maybe three fills in the winter months so we’re looking at being well over budget in terms of what we get from the ministry for heating, lighting, and water,” she said.

Bilas said the school already had a full tank of diesel, but if prices remained high it would have to cut back on other parts of its property spending to cover the increased cost.

However, she said the ministry was collecting information from schools about last year’s spending on diesel and she hoped that was a strong indication it would provide some funding support.

Bilas said the school had not noticed any effects of the fuel crisis, but it was considering allowing teachers to stay home if they had release time and had taken stock of the number of pupils who were driven to school.

Oropi School principal and president of the Rural Schools Association, Andrew King, said schools in rural areas were probably seeing more impact from the fuel crisis than urban schools.

Oropi School principal and president of the Rural Schools Association, Andrew King.
Photo: Supplied / Oropi School

He said teachers were car-pooling as were parents who were not confident about putting their five-year-olds on school bus services.

“The parents like to bring them to school and don’t have them on the bus straight away until they’re a bit older and so we’re seeing families come together to look at carpooling instead of one family driving up the road,” he said.

King said schools were providing the ministry with examples of increased costs due to the fuel crisis and hoped it would result in financial help.

“Hopefully down the track there might be some relief and support for schools so that they don’t need to cut back,” he said.

“Rural schools are always already cutting back on many things because of additional costs.”

Education Minister Erica Stanford.
Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro

Education Minister Erica Stanford said the government was still taking stock of the situation and planning for each phase of its fuel response plan.

“All schools are being contacted so that we can understand their needs and provide timely, targeted, temporary support. We are also exploring potential scenarios and a range of options, should the need arise,” she said.

The Education Ministry said a small number of schools used diesel boilers.

It said the information gathered from schools would inform its planning and decision-making.

“Any support provided will be considered carefully to make sure it is tailored, targeted, and responsive to circumstances on the ground, with the ability to adjust our response as circumstances change,” it said.

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