Editorial: Saving history vital for school

I remember its large wooden cloakroom and pot belly fire.Otumoetai Primary School being forced to remove or demolish its original classroom to make way for new, modern teaching spaces defies common sense.

As a former pupil, I spent a year being taught in that classroom, when it was obviously deemed modern enough to fit the needs of a 1980s student.

I remember its large wooden cloakroom and pot belly fire giving the building a special feeling.

My classmates and I were shocked when we arrived at school one day to find the building had been damaged by fire. From memory, it was arson.

Back then the school saw fit to repair it.

As time passed it became a music room and is currently being used for an after-school care programme.

The Ministry of Education allows each school a maximum area of floor space. To stay within its quota and cater for a growing roll, Otumoetai Primary is now being forced to farewell a significant part of its history.

It will cost $220,000 to upgrade the old classroom, while modernising current teaching spaces will cost $175,000 and two additional new classrooms will be $375,000.

The dilemma has prompted a plea to the board of trustees from a former principal, teachers, pupils and staff.

They want the classroom, one of three significant historical features left on the grounds, to be standing in seven years when the school celebrates its 125th anniversary.

Staff at the ministry told the Bay of Plenty Times it was up to the school to decide how it achieved modern teaching spaces for its students but surely history needs a place in any modern learning space.

Common sense suggests if the building is being put to good use by the school, and is cherished by the community, it should remain.

Demolishing 115 years of history sends the wrong message to current students of the school.