The Minister of Education has indicated that secondary schools in Whangarei will never co-operate with Northland's two partnership schools due to a tough stance from the teachers' union.
Ms Parata said she was disappointed that the Post-Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) refused to budge on its policy that no union members will work with students or teachers of partnership schools.
"I'm pretty unimpressed with PPTA's actions voting against relationships with these schools and excluding students who otherwise might have needed access," she said.
She described the PPTA's policy as "effectively boycott action."
The PPTA believes the new partnership schools would cost mainstream teaching jobs, as rolls would drop when children move to the new schools, and are therefore banning any professional interaction between their members and the schools.