KEY POINTS:
Eight schools are being investigated for leaky building syndrome, Education Ministry officials said yesterday.
Te Akau ki Papamoa Primary School in Tauranga, Wellington's Hampton Hill School, Eastern Hutt School and Raumati Beach Schoolon the Kapiti Coast have been added to the list of "leaky schools" under investigation
Mt Albert Grammar, Edendale and Glen Innes Primary Schools and Shelly Park School _ all from the Auckland area _ have confirmed leaky buildings.
Details were not available last night on the number of buildings involved or the amount of damage reported.
Two of the Auckland schools _ Mt Albert and Glen Innes _ have started legal action against the builders.
Lawyers for Mt Albert Grammar said yesterday the school had been advised that a 24-classroom building _ known as E Block _ would require re-cladding and re-roofing.
Principal Dale Burden estimated the building would cost "millions" to repair and even then there was no guarantee the problem would be solved.
"I would like to see it bowled, because there are just so many problems with it."
The problem with leaky buildings was that it was difficult to know the full extent of the damage until the cladding had been removed, he said.
The defendants _ who are denying the Grammar claims _ include ADP Architects of Auckland, builders MF Astley, Roy and Sam Osborne, Canam Construction, and Studorp, a subsidiary of James Hardie Industries.
The Auckland City Council is also named as a defendant because it provided building inspectors to check the work.
None of the defendants was able to be contacted, or was willing to comment last night on the court action,
But MF Astley managing director Ken McKee said he did not wish to discuss the case, but was happy to see the matter go to court as he stood behind his company's work.
Education Minister Chris Carter told the Herald on Monday that two of the schools had been referred tothe Weathertight Homes Resolution Service.
But yesterday, he said the service was unable to help as the school buildings were classified as commercial properties.
"Because these count as commercial buildings, we had to go straight into court action."
The ministry said that as fixing faulty classrooms was a priority, it could end up spending millions in repairs with no guarantee of recouping the expense through the courts.
"As the property owner, we have a responsibility to attend to this as quickly as possible, and the expense will be met by the Ministry of Education, rather than schools," said national property implementation manager Brian Mitchell.
"Legal action may result in recovery of some costs, but it is a secondary priority."
The cost of repairs _ though tipped to cost millions _ would be manageable, given the size of the ministry maintenance commitments, he said.
"The Ministry of Education owns 20,000 buildings in 2500 schools in New Zealand, so repairs to a dozen or so buildings in eight schools need to be seen in that context."
BUCKET DUTY FOR STAFF AT SCHOOL
Eastern Hutt School is a decile 10 primary of almost 600 students, but it still needs to put a bucket against the wall when it rains.
The Wellington-area school's principal, Dianne Patterson, was yesterday surprised to hear it was on the list of ministry-recognised "leaky schools".
She told the Herald that staff and students had endured "quite significant issues" with leaking roofs in an administration block built in 2004.
Mrs Patterson said builders and roofers had tried to isolate the source of the leaks, but without success.
"We keep tearing our hair out because we keep on thinking the problem is being fixed, but it hasn't."
It has been a dry summer, but with the onset of winter, staff face the prospect of having to put buckets out to catch water leaking through the roof and walls.
Mrs Patterson said the unsuccessful repair jobs had cost several thousand dollars.
