School zoning shake up planned to cope with bulging rolls

New housing on the old Three Kings quarry is listed as driving tighter zoning for two nearby schools. File photo

New or tighter zoning restrictions are planned for 43 Auckland schools where rolls are bulging due to population growth or popularity.

A Ministry of Education report, obtained by the Labour Party, says student rolls at 40 schools in the region are over capacity, with a further 90 above 85 per cent of their capacity, "most with continuing roll growth".

New enrolment zones are planned for 26 schools which do not currently have zoning restrictions, and tighter zones are planned for a further 17 schools which already have enrolment schemes.

But as reported two years ago the changes are not solely due to population growth, because the report also lists 65 Auckland schools where rolls are below 70 per cent of capacity due to factors such as "perception issues" and "achievement issues".

The region's most overcrowded school, Helensville School, is listed as at 135.4 per cent of its capacity. It has recently implemented a school zone and new building is listed as "under way".

Rowandale School in Manurewa, listed second at 127.3 per cent of capacity, also has new building under way and is one of the schools earmarked for new zoning schemes.

However Waitoki School, a small rural school between Kaukapakapa and Dairy Flat which is listed as third-most-crowded at 126.7 per cent of capacity, raised doubts about the data.

"I'm just about to start a new class because I have an empty classroom," said principal Chris Neison.

"I don't feel like I'm 126 per cent of capacity. We are growing, but we are not one of the poor struggling schools that are overcrowded."

He said the school had an empty prefab classroom left over from some time in the past when the roll was higher, which was evidently not included in the ministry data.

The report says a major housing project on Unitec land at Mt Albert will force changes to existing zones for Mt Albert Grammar School and Avondale and Kowhai Intermediates, and a new school zone for Waterview School.

Gladstone School, which is also near the Unitec project, is listed as "high priority" for zoning changes. Its board of trustees has objected to a proposed new zone for Mt Albert Primary which includes a large chunk of the current Gladstone zone.

The report says a Fletchers housing project on the Three Kings quarry site will force zoning changes for Mt Roskill Primary and Three Kings School.

Zoning changes are listed as already "in progress" at Kaukapakapa School, Campbells Bay School and Ellerslie School.

Other schools listed as "medium priority" for zoning changes are: Glendowie College, Waitakere School, New Lynn School, Chapel Downs School and Weymouth Primary.

Zoning changes for Selwyn College, Whangaparaoa College and Conifer Grove School are listed as low priority.

Four schools are listed as high priority for new zoning schemes: Manurewa Intermediate and Rowandale in Manurewa, Warkworth School, and Owairoa School (Howick).

Thirteen primary schools are listed as medium priority for new zoning schemes: Matakana and Dairy Flat (Rodney); Target Road (Glenfield); Sunnyvale (Henderson); Mt Albert, Dominion Road, Bailey Road, Sylvia Park and Waikowhai on the central isthmus; Pakuranga Heights and Sancta Maria in east Auckland; Manurewa West School in the south; and Mauku School in Franklin.

A further nine are listed as low priority for new zones: Orewa North, Windy Ridge and Northcote Intermediate in the north; Swanson, Don Buck, Pomaria Road and Rutherford in the west; Waterview on the isthmus; and Bairds Mainfreight in the south.