The population of Horowhenua is tipped to hit 62,000 by 2041. Photo / Nick Simmons
The population of Horowhenua is tipped to hit 62,000 by 2041. Photo / Nick Simmons
The big squeeze is on with some schools in Levin bursting at the seams.
An increase in housing density in certain areas of town is forcing schools to shrink catchment zones and convert libraries and school halls into classrooms.
Levin Primary School principal Paulianne Taylor said its roll had risen by more than 30 per cent in a year. It now had 245 students, with even more new entrants expected to enrol each term until the end of the year.
The school hall had already been converted into a classroom for 33 students from Year 5 and 6, while another class of the same year had 34 students. The hall space was also needed for a breakfast club, dance classes and school assemblies.
Levin Primary School principal Paulianne Taylor in the school hall, which is also now both a classroom and dining area for a breakfast club.
The only “space” left is the school library, which had been converted into a classroom to manage roll growth in the junior school towards the end of last year. The school was now faced with the prospect of converting the library back into a classroom again.
Taylor said the school had made the Ministry of Education aware of the situation when the problem first surfaced and was awaiting its response. The school was in need of two new classrooms, preferably with toilets, as soon as practicable.
“We love our school. We love our community. We are doing the best we can, but it is definitely a big challenge.”
Levin Primary School principal Paulianne Taylor.
Pressure on school rolls had wellbeing repercussions for students and their families. Any zone change had the potential to create angst among families who already had children attending a school.
There was the real possibility that younger siblings in the same house could be zoned out. It meant some families had to consider moving all their children to a new school, which was a stressful decision to make.
Overcrowded classrooms created pressure for teachers, too, she said.
“We’ve been told we are top of the list,” she said.
Horowhenua District councillor Sam Jennings said he was aware of the pressures on some primary schools and had written a letter to Minister of Education Jan Tinetti.
Sam Jennings
Jennings said the situation was urgent, with the population of Horowhenua forecast to hit 62,000 people by 2041, up from 37,000 currently.
He said the demographic of Levin is changing rapidly with more and more younger families moving to the district because housing was less expensive in comparison to Wellington, Kāpiti and Palmerston North.
The increasing density of housing in the urban Levin area was only contributing to a squeeze on school sizes.
“The growth being experienced is placing additional pressure on a number of primary schools, especially in Levin. This trend is likely to continue at pace given focus on urban intensification,” he said.
“It is in my view that a comprehensive assessment and a ministry visit may be needed to see first-hand the current challenges being experienced.”
Jennings sought engagement with ministry officials to “discuss the current status of all school rolls, capacity constraints and classrooms pressures”.
Taylor, too, said it needed a visit from ministry officials to see the issues first-hand.
“It would be great if someone could drive around and speak to the schools,” she said.
Fairfield School principal Alasdair Maclean.
Fairfield School principal Alasdair Maclean said his school was in constant dialogue with Ministry of Education officials as a result of massive residential growth in the north-east of town that saw the school roll balloon past 500 for the first time in its 60-year history a few years ago.
During that time the school converted its library into a classroom. The MOE response was to truck in two new classrooms last year and reduce the Fairfield School zone, freeing up the library space again.
Maclean said he was liaising regularly with the school board, real estate agents, property developers and the community to keep ahead of the situation, with an estimated 500 new houses expected to be built in the surrounding area in the next few years.
The roll had eased again to around 460, but with a large amount of new housing planned for the immediate area - it was an area of town with several new subdivisions taking shape - he was trying to keep ministry officials abreast of developments.
- Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air.
