As students get ready for the first day of term, schools are hoping the government makes good on its election promises.
A projected total roll of 753,200 students is forecast for 2007. Over 55,000 will be packing their bags for the very first time and more than 61,000 students are entering Year 9, for their first taste of high school.
National President of the New Zealand Principals' Federation, Judy Hanna, says some principals have spent the last couple of weeks scrambling to find teachers after last minute resignations.
Hanna says the government's promise for one teacher for every 15 students in the first year of teaching should kick in next year, but at the moment many schools are paying out of their own pockets for extra teacher hours in order to reduce class sizes.
Teachers absorb extra dollars
The largest chunk of an extra $300 million being spent on education will end up in the pockets of teachers
Figures released by the Ministry of Education show funding for schools will rise from around $5.4 billion last year, to just under $5.7 billion this year.
Of that increase, just under $150 million is to be spent on teachers' wages.
Forty eight million more will be spent on school operations and an extra $12 million on special education.
School properties will absorb the remaining $21 million in extra
cash.
