School dream turns to nightmare with closure

By ALAN PERROTT, education reporter

Becoming principal of Helena Bay School this year was one of the proudest moments in Petina Stone's life.

It meant a return to her local school, which is bounded by bushclad hills and sits within a short walk of a gorgeous Northland bay.

Kia Stone, 18, is training at Northland Polytech in the hope of joining her mum and has been helping out as a teacher aide during her holidays.

Both dreams may be shortlived as Helena Bay is one of eight schools in central Northland set to be closed by the latest Ministry of Education network review.

"Getting this job was my dream come true," said Petina Stone. "Pretty awesome stuff, but we're being shut down and that guts me. This place is about giving these kids an identity, it's about where they are from and their whakapapa [genealogy]. They have got to feel that they are somebody and this is where it starts."

All of her eight children have attended Helena Bay School.

The school site was set aside for education during the 1800s and opened in 1908 to serve the mostly Ngati Wai community.

As with many schools in the region, a lack of jobs has meant that Helena Bay's roll has fluctuated.

From 65 pupils nine years ago, Helena Bay's roll slumped, then rose to 32 last year, only to fall to 17 this term.

Education Minister Trevor Mallard has said the closures will benefit the Northland communities by slashing the cost of maintaining emptying schools and reallocating the funding to larger, more sustainable schools in the region.

But the imminent subdivision of their valley has encouraged hope among Helena Bay residents of new families arriving, despite Education Ministry predictions of a population decline.