Little support for Government initiative

&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;" alignright size-full wp-image-939" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;schoolnewsnz&period;fastrackdev&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2014&sol;07&sol;SND05-wk1-News-Principals-Pat&lowbar;Newman&lowbar;300x225&period;jpg" alt&equals;"SND05-wk1-News-Principals-Pat Newman 300x225" style&equals;"margin&colon; 5px&semi; float&colon; right&semi;" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"225" &sol;>In a recent poll released this week&comma; involving over 1000 principals throughout New Zealand&comma; only five per cent supported the Government&&num;8217&semi;s &dollar;359 million scheme to get principals talking to each other&comma;&&num;8221&semi; says President of Te Tai Tokerau Principals Association Pat Newman&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> <&excl;--more--> <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;In fact&comma; 54 per cent of them were totally opposed&comma; whilst the rest liked some minor aspects&comma; but not the scheme as a whole&comma;&&num;8221&semi; Mr Newman said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Principals are questioning whether this is the best way of spending &dollar;359 million of new money&comma; supposedly to help improve students&&num;8217&semi; achievement&comma; when schools are desperate to get real support&comma; such as sufficient psychologists&comma; speech language therapists&comma; behavioural support and the thousands of other ways that this money could have been used&comma; to give real support for student learning&comma; rather than some pie-eyed scheme&comma; dreamed up once again in Wellington&comma; far from the reality of the chalk face&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;The Government can&&num;8217&semi;t say it wasn&&num;8217&semi;t warned about principals&&num;8217&semi; concerns around this latest idea emanating out of the Beehive&period; From the start of discussions and throughout discussions&comma; principals have asked repeatedly&comma; &&num;8216&semi;Is this the best use of &dollar;359 million to support student learning&quest;&&num;8217&semi; The answer they came up with then&comma; and still do&comma; is simply&comma; No&excl;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;