Gisborne Boys’ and Gisborne Girls’ high schools, along with Lytton High School and Gisborne Intermediate, will receive the maximum amount of $400,000 each under the new package.
Gisborne Boys’ High principal Andrew Turner said that while the school was grateful for the extra money, it was only a very small portion of what was needed.
He said the school had been working with the Ministry of Education for the past 12 months on large-scale modernisation plans.
'Wait and see' for finer details “My understanding is that we have two years to spend this on upgrading/modernising our school environment.
“Our plan is to prioritise this funding to benefit the entire school and keep pursuing our larger redevelopment plan.”
Ilminster Intermediate School principal Peter Ferris said that while every school would be excited to receive the extra money, it was “interesting” the way the Government could find the money leading up to an election year.
Ilminster will receive $286,209 in funding next year.
“We will need to wait and see how much the Ministry of Education will attempt to totally control the expenditure,” he said.
“Ilminster is in an excellent position regarding property.
“We have worked very hard for years to ensure we are totally up to speed. The extra money will absolutely be the icing on the cake if the board of trustees is allowed to determine what it is spent on.”
Mr Ferris said it would be a case of waiting for the detail, and the timeline.
Schools were yesterday still waiting to hear more about the criteria for the spending.
“At this stage we haven’t been given the finer details but it is a very much needed cash injection that will benefit our schools as well as the community,” said Te Wharau School principal Steve Berezowski.
“Our school is set to receive around $340,000.
“As I am not sure what we are going to be allowed to spend this money on I am holding back from making any plans on how to spend it.”
For older schools like Gisborne Boys’ High, the money is needed to bring facilities up to a good standard, said Mr Turner.
“Our school, like many others, has become tired, with some of our spaces over 70 years old and requiring a significant revamp,” he said.
“The property funding we receive every five years has largely been spent on maintaining and repairing buildings.” This work had included electrical and gas reticulation, roofing, toilet upgrades and asbestos removal.
“Sadly these have very little to do with improving teaching and learning,” he said.
“Outside of this, the school has focused on specialist spaces like our tech block, library and whakairo (carving) space.
“Other mainstream subjects like maths, science, English and social studies have been neglected as the purse won’t stretch that far.”
Announcing the $400m package, Ms Ardern said nearly every school and community in New Zealand would benefit from “this windfall investment”.
“I’m proud that students and teachers will be the first to benefit from our infrastructure upgrade,” she said.
The money will be spread between more than 2000 schools, with each receiving between $50,000 and $400,000. School property projects the investment can be spent on include:
Classroom upgrades, including making classrooms more flexible and modernReplacing roofing and gutteringUpgrading stormwater drainage systemsInstalling energy-efficient heating and lightingResurfacing outdoor courts and paved areas.
