A $1000 ''finder's fee'' per pupil is being offered to attract more boarders to Waitaki Boys' High School.
The offer is in a letter to parents and caregivers of boys in Don House, which can accommodate up to 140 pupils, as the school enters enrolment and registration of prospective pupils for next year.
The school's director of boarding, Troy Looms, said for the boarding facility, an integral part of the school, to continue, numbers needed to be ''steady and rising''.
''We are in the process of proposing a new boarding house development. However, this will not be viable if our numbers decrease,'' he said.
The offer is to parents of boarders, seeking their assistance in identifying and/or communicating with prospects in their area.
''As an incentive, we would like to offer existing boarding parents a ''finder's fee'' of $1000 for any pupil that they have introduced to Waitaki Boys' and who consequently enrols at Don House.''
There are conditions and the payment would be in two instalments.
The first $500 would be paid at the end of the first term and the remaining $500 at the end of the fourth term if the ''finder's fee'' pupil had been at Don House for the full year and fees were paid in full by the end of the year.
Alternatively, Mr Looms has asked for ideas to promote boarding at Waitaki Boys'.
Approached by the Otago Daily Times about what appeared to be an unusual offer, the Ministry of Education's head of sector enablement and support Katrina Casey said it did not hold information on methods schools used to attract enrolments.
School hostels were owned and operated by boards of trustees, so management decisions at Waitaki Boys' High School's hostel rested with its board.
''Our advice to anyone who has questions about this offer is they should communicate their concerns directly to the board,'' she said.
St Kevin's College principal Paul Olsen said it did not offer a financial incentive for new boarders, but decisions on how to promote its hostel in the future rested with the board of trustees.
Waitaki Girls' High School principal Tracy Walker said it did not offer financial incentives for new boarders.
''We promote the hostel and work hard to keep the fees at an affordable level for families. To be fair, the cost is the same for all,'' she said.
Pupils who met the boarding allowance criteria set by the Ministry of Education received assistance and Waitaki Girls' also shared the William Hogg scholarship with Waitaki Boys' which assisted a pupil from the Waitaki Valley to attend boarding school.
''Otherwise, the fees are the same for everyone and we think this is the fairest way to do it. We work hard to ensure our hostel is a warm and welcoming environment that students will want to come here,'' she said.
Questions about the promotion were put to Waitaki Boys' board chairman Garry McLeod, but he did not reply in time for publication.
