The principal of an Upper Hutt school - defrauded out of $375,000 by one of its staff - has said the offender didn't just steal money from students, but opportunities as well.
Retired Upper Hutt College executive officer Donald John Hancox, 68, has pleaded guilty to 10 charges of submitting dozens of false invoices to the school, directing money to his own bank account.
He was sentenced to two years and three months in jail when he appeared in the Hutt Valley District Court on Tuesday.
The students can't get back what was lost, principal Judith Taylor told the court through a statement.
"We have to say sorry, we can't fund the extra sports equipment, or the new microscopes you requested. Sorry we can't afford to give you all the library books you would want or even the extra social studies text books so students don't have to share."
Hancox's actions also deprived the children of sports uniforms, computers, teacher aides and resources.
It wasn't until an unpaid contractor raised concerns during a construction project that the school picked up that something was wrong.
Hancox took the unexpected step of standing up in court and publically apologising to his family, colleagues and students.
"I'm really truly sorry for the actions that I took," he said.
"After many years at the College it is something that I never expected myself to do, and it's something that I truly regret."
But that was no consolation for the school.
"One can only wonder how much better we would all be if we had had the benefit of both the stolen money and the resulting stolen time," Ms Taylor's statement read.
College representatives say Hancox left them with a financial mess, but they now want to look forward.
"We're just pleased the matter's now behind us and as a school we can now move on with the task of teaching and learning, which is really what it's all about for the kids," says Upper Hutt College board chair Graeme Smith.
The college hasn't been repaid any of the stolen money, but Hancox is offering to repay it from his fortnightly superannuation payment.
Newshub.
