By CATHY ARONSON
TE KUITI - A small rural school near Te Kuiti has a new bus after the principal drove the entire school to Wellington to protest to the Ministry of Education.
But the ministry still refused to foot the bill for Whareorino School's new bus. Instead, the $18,000 came from Pub Charity Incorporated, moved by the school's plight.
The pupils rode their 13-seater 1984 Nissan van for the first time yesterday.
Arna George, aged 12, who lives 26km from the school, said the old bus was noisy and bumpy.
"It wasn't very nice that people can sit behind a desk in town and make these decisions when we had no way to get to school and learn.
"But I have learned to always keep on going until you get what you want if it is for a good reason."
Principal Gary Towers said he asked the ministry to pay for a new school bus in early August as the existing one was 14 years old and run down and would cost $8000 to pass a warrant of fitness.
Mr Towers said the ministry's refusal was against the Education Act statement that the ministry should pay for transport.
The day before the bus' warrant of fitness expired, August 29, Mr Towers drove the school's 11 students on a nine-hour journey to Wellington to protest to the ministry and Associate Education Minister Lianne Dalziel.
"We might be a little country school but we know how to fight for our rights so we dumped our old bus on the steps of Parliament and planned to sit there until we got a limo home."
But all he received was a stern telling-off and was told that the ministry no longer financed transport for small rural schools.
Mr Towers said he was told that five years ago the ministry withdrew money for 12 small schools and seven had since closed. The ministry said that if it paid for Whareorino's it would have to pay for them all.
Ms Dalziel said the ministry withdrew its bus service five years ago and transferred the bus ownership to the school because only one student was eligible for transport assistance.
She said that although student numbers had increased, the school was not big enough for a bus.
Ms Dalziel said the students had nearly $6000 worth of transport subsidies a year which could go towards the costs.
Mr Towers said the money would not cover the $9000 worth of operating costs and would not pay for a new bus.
In the past year, the bus' mileage has increased from 120km to 820km a week, pushing the petrol costs from $800 to $4000 a year, and gravel roads had taken their toll.
Ministry operational policy manager Dawn Brook was not available for comment.
Drive scores bus from charity
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