Newshub has revealed major cuts in funding to schools.
The Ministry of Education's own figures show that in 2014, each student got an average of $7195 in funding.
But a year later, that figure was down to $7046
That's a cut of $149 in school funding for every student.
Adjusted for inflation, it's $192 less funding, per student.
So how will that affect your kids and their school?
Michelle Rampling, a solo mum with three kids, is fed up with increasing costs of the supposedly free education system.
"No it's definitely not free," she says. "Not with all the extra fees you have to pay for."
Two of her kids are at high school, which already demands an annual donation of $150 each.
"I can pay it when I can afford it and when I can't, I just can't, but that's just realistic for me," Ms Rampling says.
She's angry at the latest Education Ministry Figures showing per-student funding decreasing -- the same figures being dismissed as misleading by the Education Minister herself.
"It is not possible to say even by the crudest measure that per-student funding has gone down," says Hekia Parata.
The main area of funding decrease is with school property -- in 2014 there was average of $763 per student spent on property, but last year, that dropped to $557.
It's a cut of $206 per student.
There are 926 schools needing work carried out -- that's 36 percent of all schools in New Zealand.
Of those, 840 have leaky buildings, 115 are a result of the Christchruch earthquakes, and 24 need major redevelopment.
And the primary teacher's union says a survey shows its members are picking the shortfall.
"Teachers are putting their hands in their pockets and support staff too, and parents are finding it harder with fundraising," says NZEI President Louise Green.
The NZEI union says the survey of 250 teachers showed 80 percent spent their own money on classroom resources, most of them saying they spent about $200 a year and some spending $500 or more.
Newshub.
