Submissions for the Government's proposed charter schools close next week but Tauranga MP Simon Bridges says the outcome of the legislation is unlikely to affect Tauranga any time soon.

The Government is inviting submissions from members of the public on the Education Amendment Bill 2012 - which is proposing the ownership and running of crown-owned schools.

Tauranga MP Simon Bridges says charter schools in Tauranga are unlikely anytime soon.

Submissions from the public are due by 24 January, which the Post Primary Teachers' Association has described as a deliberately ‘sneaky' tactic, as many people will still be on school holidays at that time.

PPTA Bay of Plenty Representative Graeme Bridge says the invitation for submissions towards the end of last year was a deliberately difficult time for education professionals.

'It's a time of year when teachers are really, really flat out and nobody wants to think about writing big submissions. We're not likely to get to it,” he says.

'I don't think they would have had as many submissions as they would of in the middle of the year.”

PPTA President-elect Angela Roberts agrees, saying the submissions deadline is equally as sneaky.

'If he (John Banks) was genuinely excited about this legislation he would be out engaging with the public. But people don't know about the legislation and they would be surprised at how little transparency there is about where tax payer's money is going,” says Angela.

Angela points to a timeline document obtained under the Official Information Act and published on the PPTA website that she says the Government planned to have 'Little consultation at the policy development stage.”

Tauranga MP Simon Bridges disagrees that the public has not had enough time to make submissions saying the legislation process has been within the normal timeframe.

'It's the same submission process for every piece of legislation. There's nothing out of the ordinary with this timeline,” he says.

'Everything has been exceptionally transparent and free and frank.”

A spokesperson for Associate Education Minister John Banks says the accusations levelled against the government by the PPTA are 'unfounded.”

The spokesperson says the start date for the submission process was October 24, giving the public three months to submit.

Simon says despite the criticism of the Government's plans, Tauranga is unlikely to have any charter schools in the near future as they are first being trialled in lower decile areas in South Auckland.

Charter schools, also called ‘partnership schools' will be able to employ non-registered teachers. Teachers undergo registration after they are trained.

The schools can also negotiate their own pay rates for teachers and set their own hours and term dates.

Each school would have to be approved by the Minister of Education and would have to report against National Standards for Year 1-8 students.

The PPTA has launched a campaign encouraging the public to make their voices heard by writing submissions to the government.

You can submit online at http://www.ppta.org.nz.