Parents discuss the costs of stationery, electronics, uniforms and school fees with the preparation for their children returning to school.

Pirinoa School's slogan says it all: "The school with FREE stationery, ZERO parent donations and the COOLEST kids you will ever meet!!!!!"​

The Wairarapa school with a roll of about 50 kids scrapped the controversial parent donations requested by most New Zealand state schools earlier this year.

The decile-7 school, which received Government funding of $8439.41 per student in 2015, has also decided to provide books for all its students at no cost to parents.

SUPPLIED Pirinoa School in South Wairarapa has done away with parent donations thanks to succeeful fundraising, a generous board and some budget shuffling.

So has this little South Wairarapa school cracked the code? Or are they in a unique position with a motivated board of trustees and limited roll?

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* School costs increasing at almost 10 times the rate of inflation

* 'Free' education cost set to mount to more than $1 billion

* Turn donations into fees - Grammar principal

* Families struggle to afford the rising cost of back-to-school requirements

* Decile 10 schools take lion's share of school donations

Consumer Price Index figures released earlier this year show school fees and donations are rising at almost 10 times the rate of inflation.

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For children who started state school this year, the total cost, including fees, extracurricular activities, other necessities, transport and computers, by the time they finish year 13 in 2028 is estimated at $35,064.

And in some cases, families are delaying sending their children back to school, due to the rising cost of "free" education.

Pirinoa principal Troy Anderson said the school's small roll and help from board of trustee members who were happy for their service fees to go back into the school's kitty put them at an advantage.

CHRISTEL YARDLEY/FAIRFAX NZ The school also provides every student with the exercise books they need.

However, there was potential for other schools to follow suit where possible, he said.

The school made the decision to scrap the $100 per student donations in June.

Only 40-50 per cent of families were paying donations, amounting to a negligible $1200 a year.

Some families would never be able to afford the donation and it affected their mana, leading to parents avoiding coming into school and engaging in school community events.

Rather than embarrassing some families over a donation they couldn't afford, the school decided to find some room in the budget and rely on fundraising events for the extra money, Anderson said.

They also decided to provide exercise books for every student at the school, meaning kids had the correct books and Pirinoa received a discount for buying in bulk.

JOHN BISSET/FAIRFAX NZ The parent donation requested by most state schools has long been a contentious issue in New Zealand.

"You can see the lift in [parents'] eyes.

"Because we're saving them $120 per kid, I can see the relief," Anderson said.

The school had a massive fundraising win earlier this year, bringing in about $41,500. This windfall helped get the school started but Anderson said he was confident the school could continue to offer the no donations, free stationery deal for years to come.

SUPPLIED Pirinoa School principal Troy Anderson (right) says it affects parents' mana when they can't afford the donation. Instead, the school has found room in its budget to continue with its no-donation policy, introduced in June.

"Any help is good help for parents."

Doing away with donations helped differentiate the school from others in the area, he said.

Pirinoa's roll had increased from 29 to 45 in the past 18 months.

Some other schools across the country have taken a similar route, asking students to participate in a "work day", and getting parents more involved in fundraising activities - rather than asking them to dig into their pockets again.

In the past, state schools have blamed the need to ask for parent donations on the Government's decile-based funding system.

Higher decile schools receive less funding from Government. The rationale is children who come from higher socio-economic backgrounds have the resources to fund school activities and stationery.

JOHN BISSET Donations are a contentious issue, with some parents struggling to afford them or refusing to pay. However, many schools say they couldn't survive without them.

But this isn't always the case, with some of the country's top schools saying the low rate of donations paid, coupled with less Government funding leaves them scrambling for money.

And last year Auckland Grammar School Principal called for the Government to turn donations into compulsory fees.

In February, Secondary Principals' Association's Patrick Walsh said the notion of a free education should be abandoned.

"I think the basic principle is you undertake a study ... of what it costs to actually run a school, all the operational costs including staffing, and you either fund it to the level it actually costs, or you say the pie isn't big enough to support that and we will now allow schools to charge parents for some of the services."

Walsh said donations were essential to give students a high quality education and schools should be able to demand parents pay.

Comment is being sought from NZ Principals' Federation.