Zoning figures manipulated says councillor

Hastings district councillor Malcolm Dixon says zoning figures have been manipulated. Photo / File

Hastings district councillor Malcolm Dixon claims the education minister has manipulated zoning figures in order to prove a kura is justified in Havelock North.

Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Wananga Whare Tapere o Takitimu is set to have a new building in Arataki in 2017 despite public cries of despair over the decision.

Mr Dixon said he believed there were discrepancies around different methods used to zone the area before the decision was made as well as after.

"The ministry conveniently manipulated zones to suit their own needs," he said.

When asked about the zoning method used, a spokesman for the ministry said the Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, had addressed Mr Dixon's concerns in a letter he received this week.

The former Frimley School principal said the minister had failed to address his concerns, which he had written in a letter sent to Prime Minister John Key in October.

Ms Parata wrote: "In response to your concerns that students of the kura will 'feel out of place' in Havelock North, I am advised that the board of trustees, which represents the interests of the students and whanau, supports the relocation to this site."

The Hastings councillor disagreed and said the communities had unnecessarily been pitted against each other through lack of public consultation.

Mr Dixon said he was approached by a board member from the kura who expressed concern over the new location and also divulged fears that if these concerns were raised with the ministry they may lose out on a new building.

The board member was in full support of a new kura but wanted it to be built according to the community's needs.

The Maori immersion school had been working towards expansion for many years and finally being granted this opportunity meant their roll could continue to grow.

Ms Parata, however, said the board of the kura was consulted, despite no requirement under the Education Act to do so.

She also said she was "advised that investigating other sites would unnecessarily delay the urgently needed relocation and could incur additional costs".

"The ministry consulted the board of the kura after the decision was made, not before," Mr Dixon said.

The minister said the Arataki road site was granted to the ministry in 2009 when it was thought population growth from housing would suit a new English-medium primary school More recent population growth research showed this was now no longer the case, she said.

"I feel sure the proposed move will meet physical, cultural and distinctive teaching and learning needs of the kura."

About 10 per cent of the current students enrolled at the kura live in Havelock North. It is expected this number will remain steady or increase at the new site, Ms Parata said.

A meeting was held yesterday to discuss Ms Parata's reply and consider which steps to take next.