School offers to buy its buildings for $3

1.00pm

A school earmarked for closure has offered to buy its buildings from the Government for a total of $3.

Orauta School, Moerewa, near Kaikohe, put the idea of paying one dollar for each of its three buildings to Education Minister Trevor Mallard.

However, the cheque was promptly sent back and Mr Mallard has instead warned that he expected the school to "co-operate fully" with the Ministry of Education.

The tiny rural school of 30 pupils has refused to provide details of the children, or meet with Ministry of Education officials, since Mr Mallard announced in July that the school will close next year as part of a national review.

Earlier this month, Orauta School board of trustees chairman Ken Brown sent the cheque after the ministry placed advertisements in national newspapers selling the school.

Mr Brown also wrote a letter accusing the ministry of predetermining the school's closure - the ministry asked the school's auditors to provide financial accounts on the basis the school would close before the decision was taken, he said.

However, Mr Mallard disputed the predetermination claim saying his decision to close the school was made by following "clearly defined" steps and that a request for Orauta School's financial accounts was "sent in error and without my knowledge".

Mr Mallard declined the offer of $3 for the school's buildings because if the school's land was not given back to local Maori, the Crown would take the buildings away.

He also said that if the Crown returned the land to local Maori, the school would have to register as a private school. If it did not register, that would be illegal and school managers, as well as children's parents, could be fined.

Mr Brown said his school did not have to register as a private school as Maori are guaranteed to govern their own matters (tino rangatiratanga) under the 1835 Declaration of Independence. He also said he would "stand firm" on not giving pupils' details to the MoE.

"If he (Trevor Mallard) wants to take us to court, so be it," Mr Brown said.

Some of the changes the school has already put in place to run itself include changing the school's name to Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Maara o Hineamaru Ki Orauta (Maori school in the garden of our ancestor Hineamaru in Orauta) and setting up a Maori trust to manage the school's assets.

A whanau meeting will be held at the school this week to decide what steps to take next.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)