Private funding for schools

New primary and secondary schools to be built in Hobsonville will be the first in New Zealand constructed with private money.

Not actual building being proposed... unfortunately.

It appears that the move toward privately funded schools is fraught with difficulties. It is far from agreed and if the arguments laid out by the above mentioned article are anything to go by finding a private partner is going to be tricky:

• The land and school will be owned by the government. 
• The board of Trustees will remain wholly in charge.

• The private-sector partner will carry the risk around time-consuming and expensive problems like leaky buildings.

So, let me get this straight. I as a private investor  I will foot the bill for the construction of a building I will not own, with tenants I am obliged to house, with little or no say in how the buildings are to be used, oh and if the those building come under disrepair it is I who have to find the money to fix or replace even though it is not I who have warn them out... Is there an upside here I can’t see?
Apparently...

“If suitable bids are not received the government can revert to traditional funding. It can also terminate the agreement if key performance indicators are not met.”

... which is somewhat of a relief to parents, students and staff as  I would suggest the chances of finding someone willing is slim at best.
The government must be fairly confident with the outcome, howeve, as it's sitting in the PM’s backyard with an election on the horizon.

Please excuse me if I go a check my other pants for that spare 40-mil I had kicking around the other day.
Tweet