Closed schools 'hurt communities'

By ALAN PERROTT education reporter

Closing a small, rural school might save money, but it will cost a community, says principal Jane Stowell.

Her school in Puketurua, outside Putaruru in south Waikato, is one of 24 set to disappear through closure or amalgamation before the next school year.

Ms Stowell said communities such as Puketurua were under siege, having already lost their shops, banks and post offices.

One in seven New Zealanders (532,740) still live in individual farmhouses or settlements of fewer than 300 people and the principal says schools are their most common link.

"A lot of the parents here went to this school and they want their children to come here as well," she said.

More schools will join Puketurua over the next few months. Preliminary decisions on 35 more are yet to be released.

Ms Stowell said their community was angry at being forced to send its children to a larger amalgamated school in Putaruru. Appeals have been lodged, but she said most felt the battle had already been lost.

Puketurua School is one of 90 spread through eight regions of the lower North and South Islands whose futures will be decided by Government network reviews this year.

Education Minister Trevor Mallard has so far issued preliminary decisions on 55 schools across five of the regions under review.

Vulnerable schools have dwindling rolls and empty buildings which are expensive to maintain, or they have questionable teaching standards. The minister's own primary school in Wainuiomata was closed after a network review.

Mr Mallard said the estimated $21 million saved through the closures and mergers already proposed this year would be distributed among the surviving schools in each region.

"We want to make sure education money is spent on teaching students, and not on maintaining under-used or empty buildings."

One long-term survivor, Awariki School, had to cancel its 100th birthday celebrations when it was given preliminary notice of closure last month.

Robert Haworth, principal of the 99-year-old school about 20km from Dannevirke, said rural people should have the same right of convenient access to schools as everyone else.

Mr Haworth said rural schools were not seen as enhancing New Zealand education - which he said was preoccupied with economic efficiency, auditing, compliance and accountability.

Jo Powell, a trustee at Awariki School, said undergoing a review was like being hit from behind with a hammer. "It's not until afterward that you realise what happened. My only advice is get a good lawyer straight away."

This is the second time her 9-year-old son has changed schools and she expects he will have to attend a third until his new school in Dannevirke is completed.

A final decision on Awariki School's fate is expected next month.

Bruce Adin, president of the New Zealand Education Institute, has said he expects about 500 schools to be closed over the next 10 years.

He said primary schools were undergoing their biggest overhaul in decades and he predicted a huge impact on rural communities.

Mr Adin said the closures had nothing to do with quality of education. It was all about redistributing resources.

A report on the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry website said closures had meant some pupils were now travelling an hour to and from their new schools each day. The report found the loss of a school affected land values and made it harder for farmers to attract workers.

Schools under review


Nationally: 90

Total schools under network review this year: 90

Where: Putaruru, Turangi, Taihape, Opunake, Dannevirke, Masterton, Taieri, Waitaki.

Preliminary decisions issued: 55

Schools facing closure: 24

Putaruru region Schools reviewed: 11

Number set to close/merge: 5

Total funding saved: $4.9 million