KEY POINTS:
Repeated floods are eroding the roll at Kaeo Primary School and may have scuttled hopes of hiring an extra teacher.
Before the March 29 flood - which swept through the hall and canteen - the roll stood at 98 children and there were four teachers.
The school looked sure to reach the 101-pupil mark, which would have entitled it to government funding for a fifth teacher. But those hopes are fading because of the after-effects of floods on March 29 and July 10.
Principal Paul Barker, who started at the school eight weeks before the first flood, said five pupils left the school after the March deluge. In some cases the families had left the district, and in other cases the children had been shipped off to stay with grandparents. After the July flood another three left. The roll is now down to 94, making an extra teacher unlikely.
"Five teachers would have made a massive difference," Mr Barker said. "That's been one of the hardest things about the floods."
As well, the disruption was also hampering efforts to improve attendance. "What really worries me is kids not coming to school.
"It's difficult getting kids to school at the best of times, and after the March flood we lost half the kids and worked hard to get them back."
Although the school did not close for the July flood, 32 children could not make it to school. However, the school was doing everything possible. A newly established pre-school programme at Kaeo Primary was not only fulfilling a need but could help convince parents to keep their children's education in the town.
"We're encouraging people to take a good look at our school," Mr Barker said. "We're doing a good job and we want to show them things are humming along nicely."
- Northern Advocate
